The Lost Planet
by thetalkingtrampoline
Summary: When team Lightyear receives a call from a friend that a girl is trapped inside the walls of Planet Z, they head out for a rescue mission. One problem: The girl doesn't want to go, believing she is one of Zurg's best Henchmen. What she doesn't know, is that a certain Evil Emperor has big plans for her, and none of them good. Also, a certain Jo-Adian is falling for her. And HARD.
1. Devastated and a capital Z: Prologue

Everything seemed to be quiet and peaceful in the galaxy. The weather was beautiful at planet Xethe. Children were outside playing in the sun, mothers were working in and around the house, and the farmers were working in the fields.

In a small peasant home, a mother named Gloria Eudoll cleaned the dishes. She hummed a sweet lullaby, smiling, while her beloved husband worked out in the fields. Then the sound of a crying baby interrupted her humming. She put down a plate and her brush, and strolled to a room in the hallway. She opened the door carefully and slipped into a small, pink baby room and approached the cradle.

The baby that lay in the cradle swung around her tiny arms and kicked her feet, crying. The mother smiled as she raised her from the cradle.

'My, my little one,' Gloria held her daughter close to her, 'why do you make so much noise?' The baby stopped crying, but continued to whimper, and grabbed her mother by the ear and jerked on it. The tolerant woman laughed at this, lowering herself into a chair and releasing her ear from the baby's grip. She started to rock her daughter, swinging her gently from side to side.

The baby yawned, gradually falling into a peaceful sleep. Her mother rocked her for a couple of minutes longer, then gently placed her back in the cradle. Walking back to the kitchen, she turned on the small television to listen to the news.

As she washed the dishes, the following news bulletin suddenly caught her ears: "To all people on Xethe! Our planet is under attack by the Evil Emperor Zurg! Everyone must hide in their homes, until more information- KGGGGGG…" Snow appeared on the television. Her body shaking, Gloria turned off the television and ran outside to look up at the sky. Big ships with a capital Z on them flew through the sky, slow and threatening.

'Gloria!' someone screamed.

She turned to see her husband running towards her, all the colour drained from his face. 'Torrance!'

Torrance grabbed her by the shoulders. 'Are you okay?'

'Yes, I-' Then she heard screaming, and saw hornets fly through the air, firing on innocent people: women, men, and even children.

'Inside! NOW!' screamed Torrance, and he pushed his wife inside the house. They locked every door and window. 'Get the baby!'

Gloria rushed to the baby's room, lifting Nida out the cradle.

'Quick, into the basement!' ordered her husband. Gloria rushed with her baby into the basement, followed closely by Torrance who locked the door.

'What do we do now?' Gloria's voice trembled, and she began to cry.

'I don't know, dear…' whispered Torrance. He stroked Gloria's hair, holding her close. His eyes were filled with unshed tears as he looked down to Nida, his only child. She was gazing around, her eyes wide and confused. Unable to look at her any longer, Torrance grabbed the emergency radio. "Let's hear what the news is." He turned it on.

"To everyone on Xethe: the planet is surrounded by ships and hornets. Escaping is impossible! The planet is declared lost. I repeat: lost!" All hope faded from the family when they heard these words.

'Oh noohoo…' cried Gloria. Tears rolled down her eyes, staining her face. 'Oh Torrance… Now we'll never see our daughter grow up!'

Torrance slammed his fist on the table, startling his wife. 'We might not see her grow up… But someone else will!' he said through gritted teeth.

Running upstairs with the radio, he unlocked the basement door. His wife followed him carefully.

'Torrance, what are you doing?!' she asked as he pulled all the furniture away from the front door.

'Go grab Nida's favorite doll and a picture of us. It's necessary!' he yelled before opening the door.

Gloria rushed to the baby's room again, grabbing a fluffy bunny doll out the cradle, then grabbed their wedding picture off the wall and rushed outside to her husband. She looked to the sky, and surprisingly enough there was nothing there. She remained alert, however.  
'Torrance what is all this nonsense?!'

He was busy pulling something huge out the barn. The strange-looking thing was covered by a filthy blanket. 'We'll save her with this!' He pulled off the blanket to reveal a small spacecraft.

'Where did you get this?' gasped Gloria.

Torrance opened the shuttle, and inside was a small seat, with thick walls all around as protection for the cockpit. 'I built it myself,' he answered. "I hoped we'd never have to use it, though."

Gloria glared at him. 'You don't expect our baby to go in that!' Torrance opened his mouth to respond, but the radio interrupted him.

"This is the very last message we'll send, folks. Zurg has sent off a giant rocket towards Xethe's moon, and within ten minutes it will explode and the shockwave will devastate Xethe. There's nothing Star Command can do – they'll never get here in time. Over and out…" The radio went silent.

Torrence looked with hopeful eyes at his wife. 'Please, Gloria!' he pleaded.

She gazed at him, stroking her baby's cheek. The child grabbed onto her mother's finger, looking up to her with her big orange eyes. There was no question of what she had to do. Gloria handed over the picture and the bunny to Torrance, and he placed them carefully in the craft, crying alongside his wife.

'I'll type in the coordinates of Jo-Ad…' he whispered while his wife placed the baby in the craft, fastened the seatbelt, and began writing a note for whoever found the craft. 'Gloria, it must take off now.' He grabbed her by her arm, and they looked at their child one last time before the craft took off and disappeared in the sky.

Shortly afterwards, an explosion was heard, and the shockwave hit the planet, leaving everyone dead.

Meanwhile, the tiny ship was flying away from the planet, heading for Jo-Ad, but the launch had been delayed too long. Before it could reach a safe distance, the shockwave struck. However, with its power now depleted from hitting the planet, the shockwave contained significantly less force, and although the ship rocked back and forth, it remained intact. Unfortunately, a subtle shift in its course occurred, sending it away from Jo-Ad and straight towards the giant purple ship looming above the decimated planet.

'The rocket hit its target, Evil Emperor!' One of the Grubs approached his evil master carefully. The purple overlord was standing beside a window, gazing out with evil glee. The position gave a perfect view of the explosion that devastated the planet.

'And you are sure that everybody is dead, minion?' He looked down at the Grub, who swallowed.

'Y-yes, Your Highness! Absolutely p-positive!' he faltered.

Zurg grinned evilly. 'Perfect!' Then he turned away from the window with a dramatic weave in his cape. 'Everything is going as planned! The Galactic Alliance can't refuse my proposal now! They will fall before me, and I will rule the entire galaxy!' He started to laugh hysterically.

Another grub approached, coughing to get his attention. 'Err, Evil Emperor-'

Zurg spun around to face him. 'Who dares to interrupt my evil laughing schedule?!' he yelled furiously, looking down on the Grub that dared to ask for his attention.

The grub quickly hid his face behind the clipboard he held, his entire body shaking. 'The B-Brainpods detected a s-small spacecraft that flies c-close to us.' He swallowed, trying not to stutter so badly, but to no avail. 'They are asking p-p-permission to take it in.'

Evil Emperor Zurg cocked an eyebrow at the Grub, then rubbed his hands together. 'My plan is getting better and better! Now I've got hostages!' He grinned with his usual malicious smirk and waved in dismissal to the Grub. 'Off you go now, go tell those lazy Brainpods they have my permission to take in that craft!'

The Grub bowed to his master and backed away. As soon as he was out of Zurg's sight, he began to run as fast as his short legs would carry him.

Meanwhile, Zurg placed his arms behind his back and strode to his throne. He sank into it and took out a microphone from the side, which connected to the speakers in the ship's kitchen. 'I demand a drink!' he commanded. 'NOW!' He turned off the microphone and placed it back where it belonged.

Soon another Grub rushed to him, holding a plate with a glass containing a strange-looking beverage and tiny umbrella. The minion approached his master cautiously, and bowed down to him, offering the drink. Zurg snatched it off the plate and studied it.

'Ooooh! An umbrella!' he squealed in delight, taking it out and placing it on his head. Then he took a sip from the drink, and spat it out a second later. 'This isn't acid! This is just green lemonade with bubbles!' He threw the glass at the shaking Grub, who ran for his life.

'I'M SORRY! IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!'

Zurg sat down again and took the umbrella off his head. 'I'm still keeping this, though…' he muttered, fiddling with the small prop.

'Evil Emperor!' called a voice, and a Brainpod wheeled up to the throne. There was something in the way his eyes darted around and his voice quavered that gave the impression of fear – and more than the usual fear each minion felt in the presence of their master.

'What is it this time?!' snapped Zurg.

'We took in the space craft, like you asked us!'

Zurg's angry glare changed into a frightening smile. 'Ah! The hostages have finally arrived! Brilliant!' Stepping down, he rushed out the throne room and headed for the launch bay where the captured ship would be.

'Yeah… about those hostages… There is just a little problem with that…'

Zurg stopped walking, and with a threatening tone he asked the Pod, 'What. Problem?'

Nervously, the Pod explained.

'A BABY?!' The entire spaceship shook under Zurg's furious screaming. He grabbed a Grub by the throat and began squeezing it like a stress ball. 'Didn't you stupid Grubs say that everybody was dead on that planet?!'

The Grub squeaked with the lack of air. 'We were absolutely sure, Evil Emperor!'

Zurg threw the poor Grub through the room. 'I never asked for a baby!' he yelled angrily.

The Brain-Pods pushed one of their kind forward. The Pod, named Number 406, was shaking from his bowl to his wheels. Zurg glared at him, his red eyes glowing dangerously. 'Well, Your Highness, there are some very interesting things about these aliens, if you'll forgive me.'

'Like what?!' snapped Zurg. He heard the Pod swallow.

'Well, Xethaniäns have the power to grow plants, create water and are able to bend that water. You can use these powers for your evil plans…' He spoke the last sentence with a slight nervous vibration in his voice

'Hmmm…' Zurg rubbed his chin. He said nothing for a few seconds, then he waved at one of the Pods. 'Bring that child in here,' he demanded coldly. The pod rushed off, and came back with the child wrapped in a small blanket. Zurg knelt down to observe it, then stood up again, disgusted. 'So you mean THIS…' he pointed at the innocent looking baby who waved her tiny arms at him, 'could be a murder weapon if I wanted it to?' All of the Brain-Pods nodded furiously.

Zurg suddenly started laughing hysterically. The Pods and Grubs did nothing, but the baby began to laugh as well, her voice loud and happy. Zurg turned around dramatically to face the child. She looked startled for a moment, then laughed even harder.  
Zurg knelt down, his face dangerously close to hers, and he narrowed his eyes, which glowed furiously red. The child kept simply continued to chuckle.

Zurg began to jump up and down, waving his arms around like a crazed monkey. 'OEGABOEGABOEGA!' he yelled in attempt to scare the child. But to no avail, for she laughed even harder.

Zurg stood up straight again, frowning. Then an actual smile came upon his face. 'She's a tough child!' he said with delight. 'She'll make a good weapon. I like her.' The Pods and Grubs gazed up at him in surprise. Zurg saw their expressions, and scowled at them. 'Don't give me that look! I only like her as a weapon!' he snapped, crossing his arms.

Pod 777 bent down to one of the Grubs and whispered sarcastically 'Yeah, right!' The Grub chuckled. Overhearing, Zurg grabbed his laser and fired at them, causing the terrified pair to run away screaming. Nida squealed and laughed at this, clapping her tiny hands.

Zurg could barely hold back a smile. 'Well. Now that we've gotten that straight…' He looked down on his minions with a warning glare, and they shuddered under his gaze, avoiding eye contact. 'I have decided that she stays,' continued Zurg. A Grub held up his hand, and Zurg groaned. 'What?!'

The Grub took a step forward. 'Who's gonna take care for it?'

Zurg nodded seriously. 'A very good question! Let me think, uhm…' He rubbed his chin, sarcastically thinking. Then he screamed, 'YOU ARE, YOU BUNCH OF DIMWITS!'

The Pods and Grubs widened their eyes at each other. 'But…'

'No buts!' Zurg snapped. Then, imitating a small childish voice, he moaned, 'Oooh, I'm a Grub, and I can't take care of a baby! Oooh, I'm a Brain-Pod, and all I can do are stupid science thingies! But I can't handle a baby! No sirreee! Bwahbwahbwaaaah!' He ran around in small circles, making crying noises. After that, he left the room, cackling loudly to himself. The Grubs and Pods groaned in unison.

The Pod with the child lifted her, studying the baby with a frown. 'You're not gonna be like you're step-dad, I hope?' Nida said nothing but looked with wide eyes at the Pod. Then her cheeks bowled up, and she puked on him, leaving green with brown and yellow pickles on the poor Pod's bowl.

The Grub standing next to him looked disgusted. 'Eww, that's bad…'

His eyes drawn together in annoyance, the Pod wiped his bowl with a pair of windshield wipers.

'I also found these in the craft.' Pod Number 325 held up a wedding picture of two Xhetaniäns, a small note and a bunny toy. 'The note says: "Take good care of Nida. Signed Gloria and Torrance Eudoll."'

The Pod looked down to Nida. 'So your name is Nida, huh?' Nida squealed and tried to reach for the fluffy bunny.

'Ooh, you want this?' The Grub gave Nida the toy, and she started chewing on its right ear.

'I guess these are her parents?' one of the Pods asked, pointing at the wedding picture.

The other Pod nodded. 'I somehow feel bad for the kid.' The others shrugged. 'Let's keep a hold on this picture. I'm having the strange feeling we're going to need it someday.' The others laughed, but nobody threw the note or picture away.

'Eww, what's stinking so bad in here?' asked one of the Grubs. The Pod simply held Nida in front of the Grub's nose, causing him to go pale and faint.

The Pod sighed. 'Yep, this plan stinks.'


	2. Twenty one Years

Twenty-one years had passed since the unfortunate day of Xethe was leveled by Zurg's weapon, and nothing much changed on the planet. Its surface was cracked and marred, broken into deep canyons and jagged cliffs. The Galactic Alliance had tried to restore the planet, but their efforts were met with little success, so finally they had abandoned the attempts.

All their other planets are doing well, except for the common crime. But the Space rangers from Star Command could handle that just fine! Sometimes…

Today, it was a very quiet day and Team Lightyear was at their favorite diner, Cosmo's Cosmic Diner. They were sitting at their usual table, and Sally was taking their order.  
'So, are you guys up to anything exciting today, Buzz?' she asked, typing down their order.

'No, Sally, there's nothing in particular today,' Buzz responded. 'We'll have to do paperwork after the lunch.' Mira, XR and Booster groaned in unison.

'But Buzz!' Mira complained. 'There's no fun in paperwork!'

'Yes there is, Mira!' said Booster with a smile. 'There's filling, and… writing… and uh…' He stopped there, rubbing his neck.

'Booster's right, Mira,' Buzz affirmed. 'Being a Space Ranger doesn't just mean going on exciting missions. There's paperwork that needs to be done.'

'You're right, Buzz, as always!' Booster gushed to his idol.

'You're such a fanboy!' teased XR.

'Hey, I'm not a fanboy! Take it back!' Booster yelled at him.

'Yes you are!' XR yelled back.

'Am not!'

'Are too!'

'Guys, guys!' Sally interrupted the two arguing friends. 'Let's keep it nice, okay? There's no need to argue.'

Buzz was about to say something to the two rookies when his wrist communicator started beeping and he had to answer a brief call from. When it was over, he turned to the waitress. 'Sally, I'm afraid you'll have to cancel our order, because we're needed at Star Command in the science bay.' The others cheered, but stopped at Buzz's warning look.

Sally sighed after they left. 'Until later, Buzz.' And with that she stepped up to the next customer.

* * *

'Ah, Lightyear!' Commander Nebula was staring at a giant screen when Team Lightyear walked into the room.

'You needed us, Commander?' Buzz strode up to Nebula.

'The LGM's received a video call from an old friend of yours.' The Commander nodded at the LGM, who pressed some buttons on the vidphone. To the team's surprise, Brainpod 57 popped up on the screen.

'Hi, you guys!' 57 greeted. Booster waved happily.

'So, how is it going on the Mahambas VI beach, huh?' asked XR sarcastically.

'Hello again, 57!' Buzz greeted the Brainpod. 'What can we do for you?'

The Pod suddenly seemed nervous. He first looked around to see if anybody was listening, which was silly because there was no one else in the room. 'It has something to do with Zurg.' His voice was almost a whisper. 'He's been keeping someone in prison for twenty-one years.'

Mira gasped. 'How come we didn't notice this before?' she asked herself.

'Can you tell anything about this prisoner, 57?' continued Buzz. The Pod gave a quick nod.

'Yes. Her name is Nida, and she's a Xethaniän. She's twenty-one years old now.'

The LGM's oooh'd in unison, and Nebula's mouth fell open. 'A Xethaniän?' he yelled. 'That's impossible! Their planet was devastated by the explosion of their moon twenty-one years ago! There were no survivors! Evacuation was impossible!'

57 nodded. 'Except for Nida. She was saved by her parents who placed her in a small self-made space craft. The craft was kicked out of its course by the shockwave of the moon, and headed straight for Zurg's fleet.'

Booster cried a little. 'So her parents died to save their daughter? That's so sahahahahaaad…!' He started crying even harder, and leaned on XR.

'Keep it together, Rookie!' The Commander scowled at him.

'She became my buddy over the years. She was raised by me, the other Pods, and the Grubs. Zurg made her train her powers as soon as she turned six. She trained every day, except for Sundays." 57 grew serious. "He's planning to use her as a deadly weapon to take over the galaxy, and when he doesn't need her anymore, he's sure to destroy her!' A pleading look entered his eyes. 'Please Buzz, you have to save her - before it's too late! She's my best friend, and a good child at heart!' Buzz made a gesture to stop him, and 57 stopped begging.

'We'll do anything we can to save her, 57! I give you my word.'

'Oh, thank you! Thank you, Buzz Lightyear! I hope you get her out of there safely.'

'There's one more thing: Why haven't you told us about this Nida before?' Buzz asked, leery.

'Look, Zurg is still on to me. I was scared, okay!'

'We could have saved her while we were saving you, if you told us this before!' Mira scolded the sad Pod on the screen. 'You just wanted to save your own ass! You little-'

'Mira!' Booster chided, placing a hand on her shoulder. 'Please calm down. This isn't helping.'

Mira sighed. 'Yeah, you're right…' But she continued to glare at 57.

57 cast his eyes down in shame. 'Look, I'm sorry.'

'It's alright, 57. We'll go save your friend,' Buzz comforted the Pod. After ending the transmission, he turned to the LGMs. 'Alright guys - what can you tell us about the Xethaniäns?'

'They are like huuuumans, except for a few differences in appearance and their incredible poweeeeers,' one of the little green men answered, drawing out his words in the characteristic style of his species.

'What are these "powers"?' asked XR.

'Using their minds to manipulate atooooms on a subatomic level, they can create water and plants simply by touching the grooooound. They also can beeeend the water, using it for fights, cooking, or even to steeeeer boats. Xethe was a farming planet close to Jo-Ad.'

'I've heard enough now. We're going to get her out of there!' Buzz said firmly. 'And we're going now!'

* * *

'HIYAAAA!' a female voice cried. She leaped forward, her leg outstretched, and collided with a hornet, knocking its yellow head off.

BLAM! The sound of exploding hornets echoed through the training room as she took out one robot after another. A bundle with water was tied around her waist, and the woman drew water from it, flinging it at the oncoming hornets. The velocity with which it flew was enough to break through the robots' thick metal casing, causing the water to go through their inner workings and short them out.

At last, the final hornet lay on the floor dead, and the woman crumpled against the wall to catch her breath. She wiped the sweat off her brow, panting in exhaustion but grinning triumphantly.

'You are done for today, Nida,' a Grub told her, entering the training room.

Nida groaned. 'But I was doing so well!'

'The Evil Emperor wants to have lunch with you. You've got to freshen up.'

Nida widened her eyes. 'He wants have to lunch with me?'

The Grub sighed, irritated. 'Yes, he has certain things to discuss with you. Now clean yourself up, you look like a mess and the Evil Emperor does not like waiting!'

Nida scowled at him, then left the training deck. On the way to her private cabin, dozens of thoughts flew through her head. "He wants to have lunch with me?! What should I wear?!"

She bumped into someone when she flew around the corner. 'Ouch, watch it!' she snapped. 'What kind of dweeb runs in the hall-' Her jaw closed as she saw the metal arm in front of her, and when she looked up she could see a blue male smirking down on her.

'You'll probably mean yourself… You couldn't possibly mean me!' he chuckled sarcastically.

'Warp!' Nida gritted her teeth. Out of all people on Planet Z, she had to bump into him!

'Aww, you look so cute when you're angry,' smirked Warp, as he reached out to grab her arm with his hand.

'Don't touch!' hissed Nida, firing a warning glare at him.

Warp simply raised his hands. 'Just wanted to help, ya know.'

Nida stood up and dusted her suit off with furious sweeps. 'I don't need any help. I'm on my own,' she said firmly, still scowling at Warp. She couldn't stand him. He was always trying to flirt, and she hated it. No one was allowed to flirt with her. 'If you don't mind, I have to freshen up now, for I have a lunch with the Evil Emperor himself!' Her tone was proud and bragging.

'So what if he wants to lunch with you?' Warp cocked an eyebrow at her. 'No big deal. I'll be attending that lunch as well.' Nida closed her eyes as she groaned with disappointment, making Warp smirk. As he walked away he called, 'You should wear that dark purple dress with the capital Z on it. That one looks great on you.'

Nida watched him as he left. 'Creep!' she muttered. She then quickly slipped into her cabin, locking the door behind her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Lightyear was flying near the Zeta Quadrant.

'I'm curious to know what this person we're saving looks like,' remarked XR. 'She could be dating material!' He rubbed his knuckles over his metal chest, a small arrogant smile on his face. Booster gave him a quick glance and rolled his eyes.

'I kinda know what a Xethaniän looks like,' he told them. 'They have ears like fish, but they don't have gills, and their hair looks like a Mohawk, but it actually isn't hair – it's part of their head. They don't have a nose, and their usual skin color is a light, greenish yellow.' He stopped to catch his breath, then continued, 'Their skin colors can vary into other colors, though. One of the rarest Xethaniän skin colors is sea blue and a yellow that is so light it's almost white.'

Mira and Buzz gazed at him with surprise. 'How do you know all this, Booster?' asked Mira out of curiosity.

'My Ma and Pa were close friends with a family of Xethaniäns. I was young, only one year old, when…' He swallowed. 'Zurg killed everyone on the planet.' He looked sadly at his monitor. 'Ma and Pa were shocked, and were mourning for the loss of their dear friends a long time. They talked about them a lot - and about their new-born daughter.'

Nobody said anything. Finally, Buzz cleared his throat. 'And… did your parents ever mention the names of this family, Booster?'

Booster looked up, thinking. 'I believe their names were Gloria and Torrance Eudoll, and their child… I don't quite remember, but it sounded a lot like Mira's name, though.'

XR shrugged. 'I don't want to interrupt this "touching story" but we just entered the Zeta Quadrant.' Right after XR mentioned it, Booster's screen started to beep and lit up red.

'The alarm buoys caught us Buzz! Hornets are on to us!' he yelled.

'I'm already aware of that, Booster!' Buzz pointed to the window. Hornets were flying beside the ship, firing at it.

'Buzz, we should have used the launch tubes to get near Planet Z!' Mira stated angrily. 'It isn't possible to get closer than this!'

'Mira, I know exactly what I'm doing!' Buzz declared. 'Booster, ready the guns of the ship. Let's take down those hornets!'

Booster saluted. 'Yes, sir!'

Giant guns appeared on the side of the ship, firing and taking down every hornet. When they were finished, the shooting stopped and Booster, XR, and Mira cheered.

'Let's not celebrate too early, team!' Buzz interrupted them. 'More may be on the way.' However, they came closer and closer to Planet Z, and without trouble they landed. The team climbed out the star cruiser, still very alert.

'This is very odd…' Booster scratched his head. 'They should be on to us already.' He gasped. 'Wait, what if this is a trap?!'

'Good question, Rookie!' they heard a very familiar voice chuckle. Spinning around, the team found themselves staring at Warp and a squadron of hornets. 'Nice to see you guys again, after such a long time. It's been too long!' Warp aimed his laser at them.

'Same goes to you, buddy! We should definitely hang out more. Did you get a new haircut, by the way? Looks good on you.' XR smiled sarcastically

'Glad you noticed,' was Warp's response.

* * *

In the meantime, Nida had cleaned herself up and she looked in the mirror with a proud smirk. Then she opened the closet and grabbed the dark purple dress with the capital Z on it that Warp had mentioned.

"I'm not gonna wear this!" she thought. "It would please Warp!" She threw the dress with disgust on her bed. 'I'm just gonna wear my best suit.'

She had just made this decision when she heard something going on outside. She opened a tiny curtain in front of the only window in her cabin. Outside she saw Warp and some hornets aiming at a bunch of people.

'Finally, some real action!' she grinned, and loaded her gun. Then, smirking with anticipation, she rushed outside. 'Need some help?' She approached Warp and the hornets from behind, fiddling with the gun in her hand.

'What are you doing here?' Warp hissed furiously, still aiming at Team Lightyear.

'I want to play too!' Nida smiled, still playing with the gun in her hands.

XR whistled when Nida arrived, and Booster was surprised to find himself looking in awe at her. 'Why helloooh!' XR waggled his eyes. 'What is such a lovely girl as you doing in a place like this?'

Nida looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then smiled. 'How cute, a tin toy!' Then she aimed at him. 'So sad I have to blast you to pieces.'

XR was startled when she aimed the gun at him, but quickly recovered. 'Hey! I'm not a tin toy!'

'Go back inside, Nida!' Warp commanded.

'Nida?' Booster repeated to himself. He had been distracted by her looks for the past two minutes, but came back to reality.

'Like I said, Darkmatter, I want to play too," argued Nida.

Buzz took advantage of the distraction. Aiming his laser with a precision that came with years of experience, he fired two shots in quick succession, blasting the guns out of Nida and Warp's hands.

'Hey!' Nida looked at him furiously, while Team Lightyear went into action. Booster grabbed a hornet by its legs, and spun around with it, taking out some of the other hornets. XR popped out all his guns and began blasting the hornets. Nida saw Warp flee, and decided to follow him unnoticed.

'Not so fast, missy!' Buzz and Mira aimed their lasers at her, and, pouting, she raised her hands in the air.

'Are you really gonna shoot me?' she asked sarcastically.

'Not if you don't make any trouble,' Mira stated. Booster and XR took place beside them.  
Nida glanced at bundle of water tied around her waist, and Buzz followed her eyes and nodded to the bundle.

'What's in there?' he asked shortly.

'You wanna find out, Mr. Lightyear?' Nida asked with an innocent smile.

'Sure, why not!' said Booster. The others scowled at him. 'What is it?' asked Booster, worried.

Nida reached for the bundle with both hands. Buzz aimed his wrist laser at her.

'Fre-'

'I know, I know…' Nida interrupted him with a sweet smile. She then opened the bundle and blasted out a stream of water at Team Lightyear, using her powers to freeze the liquid. The frozen water didn't cover them entirely, however, leaving their heads ice free except for XR who was frozen entirely. 'Freeze!' Nida smiled proudly.

'Hey, that's not fair!' Booster pouted. 'You tricked us!'

'Too bad!' Nida laughed. She pushed on a button on her suit, and a jetpack appeared. 'Catch me if you can!' she yelled as she flew away from the frozen team.

Booster flexed his muscles, straining against the ice until it broke. Once he was free, he tried to break out the rest of the team, but Buzz shook his head. 'Go after her!' he ordered. 'We'll be fine. Don't let her get away.'

Booster hesitated, then took Buzz's advice and flew off after Nida. 'Stop right there!' he yelled as he began to catch up with her.

'How did you get here so soon?' retorted Nida. She was surprised that he'd broken free from the ice so quickly, and even a little impressed. 'Still angry about the ice, Tubby?'

Booster's mouth fell open. 'Tubby?!' He glared at her. 'That's it!' He aimed his laser and shot right into her jetpack.

'HEY!' screamed Nida. The jetpack exploded, and she fell down with a loud scream. Booster flew right after her, and when he was a few meters under her, he simply held his arms out wide. With a loud scream she landed in his broad arms.

'Oomph!' Nida looked startled when she noticed she'd fallen into something, and when she looked up, she saw Booster's frowning face, and their eyes met.

'Looks like I've caught a damsel in distress!' he joked, tightening his grasp on her so she wouldn't escape.

'Let me go!' she shouted, struggling in an attempt to break free.

'Hey, stop that, would you?!' This girl was strong despite her skinny posture.

'I said LET ME GO!' Nida was screaming now. She squirmed with her arm, accidentally hitting the button on Booster's chest. The jets activated, and the pair shot upwards. Booster's jetpack reached an incredibly high speed, and was completely out of control. Realizing the situation, they both screamed. 'DON'T LET GO, DON'T LET GO!' Nida shrieked, terrified, wrapping her arms around his neck as best as she could.

'IT'S OUT OF CONTROL!' Booster panicked. To their horror, they were rapidly approaching a building.

'LOOK OUT!' Nida hid her face in Booster's chest. He turned his back to the building and braced for impact. They crashed into the building with a painful thud, falling down to the ground as Booster's jetpack was exploded from the impact. Nida hit her head and Booster fell on his behind.

'Whew, that was a close call, wasn't it?' Booster sighed with relief, rubbing his head. No response came. 'You okay there?' he worriedly asked Nida. She didn't say anything. She lay with her face turned to the wall, not moving. Booster carefully approached her, his lips quivering fearfully, and shook her shoulder. Nida then rolled onto her back, her eyes closed and her mouth half open. Blood was trickling down from a wound on her head. Booster gasped, holding a hand before his mouth. 'Oh no!'


	3. A Goof around girls

'Oh no!' Booster gasped. He held his hand over his mouth in shock as he saw the bleeding wound on her head. Opening his communicator, he tried to contact Buzz. 'Buzz, Booster here! I've done something terribly wrong!'

Buzz and Mira had just broken free from the ice, and were now trying to get XR out. As they were breaking off the last pieces of ice trapping him, Buzz received Booster's call. Opening his communicator, he asked, 'What is it, Booster?'

Mira heard Booster's panicked voice, but couldn't make anything out of it. 'Hey, hey, hey, watch it!' snapped XR as Mira accidentally pulled XR's frozen arm off.

'Oops!' Mira chuckled.

'There has been a terrible accident, Buzz!' Booster panicked, almost yelling.

'Calm down now, Ranger. We're on our way!' assured Buzz.

'Okay… Okay…' On the other end of the line, Booster nodded furiously. He closed his communicator and looked worriedly at Nida, who was still unconscious. 'Please wake up!' he squeaked. Tears stained his eyes, but he pushed them back. He didn't want to cry, because everything was going to be alright. Right…?

He paced around the room, still focusing on Nida. He couldn't quite tell if she was even breathing, which made him panic even more. Lowering himself to his knees, he held his head near her face and listened carefully.

When he heard her breathe, he sighed with relief. She was alive. Standing up straight again, he couldn't help but stare in wonder at her. She was really pretty. He was surprised at this thought, also displeased. He couldn't develop a crush on her!

Booster was startled when he saw Buzz, Mira, and XR fly into the room through the giant hole in the wall he left after crashing into the building. 'At ease, Booster,' said Buzz, comforting the Jo-Adian. Booster still looked tense, but nodded.

Mira approached Nida, kneeling down beside her. She saw the wound on Nida's face, and turned to XR. 'You've got a first aid kit, right?' she asked, holding out her hand.

'Pfft, I've got everything with me!' smirked XR, and he opened his chest. He rummaged around in it, sticking out his tongue.

'XR, hurry up!' whimpered Booster. He had grabbed his ears, jerking nervously at them.

'Geez, calm down, will ya?' XR scowled, and he revealed a first aid kit, proudly handing it over to Mira. She rolled her eyes and gave it to Booster, who opened it and grabbed some bandages and a tiny cloth.

'Hey, I've never seen blue blood before!' Mira pointed to the wound, where the blood kept trickling out. Booster looked, and to his surprise, it was indeed blue.

Buzz pulled out a pair of handcuffs, while Booster cleaned the wound and wrapped the bandages around it. When Booster was finished, Buzz handcuffed the unconscious girl on the floor.

'Is that really necessary, Buzz?' Booster asked nervously.

'Yes, Booster, it is. This should prevent her from using her bending against us.'

Booster nodded, and looked down at Nida. 'You're always right, Buzz…' he said weakly.

'Pfft… Fanboy!' muttered XR. Booster glared at him, but didn't say anything, and turned back to Nida. Mira gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

'You okay, big guy?' she asked carefully.

Booster nodded weakly. He had finished the bandaging. 'I guess so…' he said. 'I just feel so much guilt. It's my fault…' He whimpered at the last sentence and Mira rubbed his back sympathetically.

Buzz cleared his throat. 'Booster, you can carry her to the ship. We need to go before Warp arrives, so we can get her out of here safe and sound.' Booster nodded, and Mira stood up again, flying outside with Buzz.

XR stayed with Booster, who gently picked up Nida. 'I don't think she's cut out for me,' said XR with a smirk as he pulled out a saw blade to widen the hole in the wall, making it easier for them to get back to 42.

Booster looked at him in confusion. 'What?'

XR gave a quick nod to Nida. 'Her! She's not that pretty, after all.'

Booster's jaw dropped, and then he frowned angrily. 'You take that back!' he snapped.

XR, who had started cutting, looked at him in surprise. 'What's up with you?' he asked, one of his metallic brows raised.

Booster grew even redder in the face than he naturally was, feeling embarrassed, and shrugged it off.

XR looked at him with a confused frown. Then a grin lit up his face. 'You like her!' he said, pointing at Booster with his free hand. Booster shook his head furiously, but went bright red. 'Ooohooo! I see what's going on here!' XR smiled. It wasn't a very friendly smile though. Meanwhile, he was done with cutting, and the piece fell out the wall with a loud thud. XR covered up the saw blade, and started to sing, 'OOOH, Booster's in love, in love! He's so in LOOOVEEEE!'

'What do you know about how I feel?' Booster felt his anger growing. 'You're nothing more than a-' he cut off his sentence there, not sure to continue.

'Come onnnnn!' XR teased. 'Say it then! Or are you a coward?'

Booster's ears flattened down to his neck and he pouted as XR made chicken noises at him. Then his anger got the best of him. 'You're nothing more than a stinky little sexist robot - nothing but a dirty skirt chaser!' he yelled, squeezing his eyes shut. XR stopped the chicken noises and looked with wide eyes at his buddy. Booster kept glaring, and with that, he walked out the building with Nida in his arms, looking over his shoulder at XR one more time and snapping, 'Stupid Tin Toy!' XR kept looking at him with wide eyes, and his jaw literally dropped.

Booster kept walking with an angry glare on his face, and was followed by a careful XR, who knew he had to leave his big friend alone this time. When they finally reached 42, Buzz and Mira were standing guard at the entrance of the ship. Buzz gave a quick nod to them, and climbed inside the ship.

'How is she doing, Booster?' asked Mira.

'Fine,' he responded shortly, still looking angry. He climbed with surprising ease up the ladder, though he had to hold on to the unconscious girl.

Mira looked confused and also a little shocked at the normally calm and cheerful Jo-Adian. She looked down on XR, who was also frowning a little. 'What's wrong with him?' she asked, still not understanding what could be wrong.

'He's having that funny feeling again, like with the Plasma Monster,' was XR's short reply.

Mira scratched her head. 'You mean when he met Petra Hammerhold?'

XR shook his head sarcastically. 'No, he got all tingly because of all the snow - OF COURSE PETRA HAMMERHOLD!' He almost yelled the last part of the sentence.

Mira scowled at him and climbed up the ladder followed by the angry muttering robot. When they entered the bridge, they saw Booster disappear into the brig. 'Why is Booster taking that girl to the brig?' Mira asked Buzz out of curiosity.

'I told him to place her in the brig, where she can sleep peacefully. He'll be back any minute,' Buzz responded.

Mira had just sat down and fastened her seatbelt when Booster entered the brig. He wasn't glaring anymore, but he looked sad now. 'How is she doing, Booster?' asked Mira for the second time, but asked it carefully.

Booster sighed as he sat down in his chair. 'The bleeding seems to have stopped, but I'm still worrying.' He then pouted while looking at Mira, his lower lip quivering a little. 'I'm sorry I was so short with you, Mira. I didn't want to-' Mira made gestures with her hand that it was okay.

'It's fine, big guy, don't worry about it. No hard feelings.' Mira smiled.

Booster sighed with relief, but he was still very worried. Even after they safely left Planet Z's atmosphere, he was still nervously fiddling with his fingers.

Buzz began to grow concerned for him, so he said, 'Say, Booster, why don't you go stand guard in the brig, and see if she's doing fine?'

A big smile appeared on Booster's face, then disappeared again. 'But Buzz? Who will be in charge of the monitors?'

Mira raised her hand. 'I'll do that for you, Booster. No problem." She smiled at the love-struck Jo-Adian.

In a flash, Booster had disappeared from the bridge, leaving his seat empty.

'Wow, he's got it bad!' XR murmured. Buzz couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Nida seemed to be asleep, but still Booster had to know for sure. He entered her cell as quietly as possible, and kneeled next to the bunk bed, listening closely to see if she was still breathing. He heard her take regular, peaceful breaths as she slept, and he smiled with relief.

He kept looking at her in awe - he couldn't help it. She looked like she was dreaming a happy dream, for she wore a smile on her face. Her hands, which were still cuffed, lay on her chest. She looked so peaceful. And… so beautiful…

What was that fairytale called again? He scratched his head, thinking of the name. Snow White? Sleeping Beauty? Yes, that was the name!

'It's like Sleeping Beauty…' he whispered. A goofy smile came to his face. 'I sure wish I could be her prince.' Without even noticing, he knelt down to her, his face was coming closer to hers. "I wonder…"

Her eyes suddenly flew open, looking into his. He was startled for the first two seconds, then fell onto his back, and crawled to the wall behind him. She just sat up, and looked at him, her face devoid of emotion.

'Did you try to kiss me?' she suddenly asked. Booster was unable to speak, he only shook his head furiously, squeezing his lips together. Nida frowned as she noticed her hands were cuffed, and swung her skinny legs over the bunk bed. She looked down to Booster, who still sat on the ground. 'Did you try to kiss me?' she repeated the question, a more threatening tone in her voice.

Booster's lower lip quivered. 'N-no! I-I was just listening to see if you were still breathing, that's all! I-I would never-'

Nida cocked an eyebrow at him. 'I never knew Jo-Adian's could hear with their MOUTHS!' she said sarcastically, and put extra emphasis in the last word. Booster whimpered. Nida looked down on him, her brows raised. Then she chuckled a bit. 'You don't seem that kind of guy to me.'

Booster looked at her in confusion. 'What?'

'You don't seem like a rapist type to me.'

Booster's jaw fell open, and he stood up again and crossed his arms, insulted. 'Excuse me?! I'm most certainly not that kind of guy, I assure you!'

Nida simply shrugged. Then she raised her hands, so he could see them. 'Why are these cuffed, by the way?' she asked with a frown.

Booster rubbed his neck. 'Err… Buzz wanted to make absolutely sure you wouldn't bend your way out of here… So he cuffed your hands.'

Nida walked over to the only sink in the brig. A flower stood in it, strangely enough. She looked in the mirror, and saw her head was still bandaged. 'Who… who did this?' she asked, looking confused.

Booster fiddled with his fingers, nervous. '…I did…' he muttered.

She raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'You did this?' Turning back to the mirror, she could see that a few traces of blood had seeped through the bandages. She didn't see Booster, but she knew he had nodded. 'I thought you hated me,' she said, still gazing at her reflection.

Booster looked worriedly at her. 'Why would I hate you?'

Nida gazed up at him. Their eyes met, and she couldn't help but feel very comfortable around this guy – yet she didn't even know his name. She cocked her head in wonder. 'What is your name?'

'I'm Booster,' he introduced himself, placing a hand on his chest. 'I um… bandaged the wound because I figured that-' He gulped, and looked at his feet - or he would have look at his feet if his belly wasn't in the way.

'You figured what?' asked Nida dryly. Booster winced, much to Nida's bemusement. This boy was very nervous around her, and she didn't know why.

'I figured that your wound was my fault,' he finally let out. At first he didn't dare to look at her, then he heard her sigh, and he peeked at her from the corner of his eye.

'Look, Baster-'

'Booster,' he corrected her.

She rolled her eyes and made a gesture with her hand. 'Whatever.' She sat down on the bunk bed, and Booster sat down next to her, the bunk bed making a complaining cracking noise under his weight. 'If anyone ever tried to kiss me, I would break every bone in their body for sure!' She gazed up at him, frowning. He winced, and his face got very bright red. Yet he still couldn't look away from her. 'But I guess I'm going to let you off the hook…' Her harsh expression softened.

Booster looked at her in surprise. He was still very red in the face, and though his skin was already red, he hoped that she wouldn't notice his blush.

"Booster, report to the bridge. We're approaching Star Command," Buzz's voice sounded through the speakers. Booster and Nida looked out the tiny window positioned on the side of the cell. Its yellow curtains couldn't hide that they were nearing the space station.

'I should go…' Booster stood up. He was about to leave the brig, when Nida called for him.

'Hey, Booster?'

He turned around to face her. 'Yes…?' he asked nervously.

Nida looked at him through the bars of the cell. 'I'm sorry for calling you tubby.' She looked at her feet, before looking back at Booster again. 'And… Thank you.'

Booster looked at her, his heart was pounding wildly in his chest, and a goofy smile on his face. 'You're welcome.' And with that he left.


	4. Daydreaming and Trouble

All eyes were focused on the love-struck Jo-Adian when he entered the bridge and sat down with the same goofy smile he had when left the brig. A couple of seconds passed before Buzz cleared his throat. 'How was she doing, Booster?'

Booster placed a hand under his chin with a weak sigh. 'She's fantastic…' he whispered, and he drew with his free hand a heart on the grease of his tiny desk. Buzz and Mira both cocked an eyebrow at him. It took a few seconds before Booster noticed this, and he quickly sat up straight, blushing a bright shade of red. 'Uhh, I meant, she's DOING fantastic!' he quickly stated, and he pulled a bright but silly grin that said: "What's wrong?! I'm perfectly fine! DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!"

'Sure you are, you just act like a puppy around her, that's all,' XR stated, still irritated over his earlier argument with Booster. He then felt a thud against his glass globe, for Mira threw a pencil at him while hissing 'shush!' He simply glared at her.

Buzz smiled at Booster, knowing exactly what the boy was going through. He himself had some… "Love-Issues" when it came to Dr. Ozma Furbanna. 'How was the wound, exactly?' he asked, trying to develop the conversation.

'It was doing fine, but I'm going to have to guide her to the med lab, to redo the bandages, and make sure it doesn't get infected,' Booster responded, trying to sound stern and firm.

Buzz shook his head. 'I'm sorry, but I have to disappoint you there, Booster. You, Mira and XR will do paperwork, while I take Nida to the med lab, and to Commander Nebula.' He saw Booster's ears flatten to his neck, disappointed. 'It's not that I don't trust you, you could take her to the med lab with ease, but you always get uncomfortable around the Commander. Maybe you get to see her afterwards,' he finished with a smile. 'And… Maybe you could show her around?'

Booster smiled happily at this.

They landed a few minutes later in the launch bay, where Commander Nebula was waiting for their arrival.

* * *

Nida couldn't help but smile when the goofy, grinning Jo-Adian left the brig. She shook her head, and sat down on the bunk bed, looking out of the tiny window with the yellow curtains. "I wonder why they would hang curtains in a brig…? Probably a lame attempt to make it look inviting in here." She leaned with her cheek on her hand, glancing over to the flower in the sink. "Same explanation goes to that flower." She looked out the window again, the space station coming closer and closer.

With a sigh she lowered herself on the bunk bed so she could lie down, and she wrapped her arms under her head. That didn't work well with her cuffed hands, so she just placed them on her stomach. She had to think of what had just happened. First she was mocking that strange Ranger-boy, him firing at her and herself crashing into something hard, causing her world to go black after a painful thud against her head. Next thing she knows she opens her eyes, looking in the eyes of the same boy, who had squeezed his lips together as if he wanted to kiss her awake. Like those lame fairytales 57 used to read her. Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Pfft, stupid damsels in distress, that's what they were! Waiting for some Prince they don't know, and marrying him right after he kissed her. Talking about desperate!

She chuckled, but frowned as she thought of Brain-Pod 57. 'That little traitor…' she hissed angrily. Yes, she was mad at 57. He had left without saying goodbye, and bailed out on her, and the Evil Emperor. He screwed her by leaving. And she thought he was her friend. She began to grow bitter. 'Why would I need friends?' she asked herself. 'I'm better off on my own.'

She felt a thud, and as she looked outside, she saw the ship had landed in some huge launch bay. Then she heard the door of the brig open, and she quickly sat up.

She was disappointed to see it wasn't the Ranger she met earlier, but the redheaded lady. Her disappointment caught her by surprise. "Why do I feel disappointed?" she thought. "I don't have any reason to."

The lady was around her age, not older than twenty two maybe, and had long red hair. Her skin was blue, which made her red hair stand out more. The Ranger looked down on Nida, with a slight frown. 'You have to come with me, and this time, no tricks!'

Nida shrugged it off. 'Not that there are tricks that I can do, now that I've wasted all my water on you guys.'

The Ranger scowled at her, and opened the cell door, making a quick gesture with her head that Nida had to come out. Nida stepped out the cell with a smirk on her face, and the Ranger grabbed her by the arm, leading her through the ship, and they soon came to the airlock and climbed out.

Buzz Lightyear was talking to a man with a grey mustache who had something that looked like a stick as leg. 'Ah, you must be Zurg's newly-freed prisoner.' He turned to her, as she and the redhead approached them. She could see by the hard lines above his mouth that he didn't smile very often, and he wasn't smiling now.

"Prisoner?!" she thought. 'With all due respect, sir, I'm no prisoner,' she stated. 'I'm one of Zurg's henchmen.'

The mustached man frowned, and crossed his arms against his chest. 'You hit your head pretty hard there, didn't ya?' Nida simply glared, but didn't say anything. The man pointed at her handcuffs. 'Why is she cuffed, Lightyear?' he asked, directing a questioning and doubtful look at Buzz.

'Just in case if she was planning to fight her way out of here. She tried that before on Planet Z,' was Buzz's answer.

The mustached man turned to Nida again. 'We'll talk about that later in my office. You certainly have something to explain, missy!'

Buzz placed a hand on Nida's shoulder. 'Thank you, Mira, I'll take it from here.' The Redhead, apparently called Mira, released Nida from her grip. Nida took a step away from Buzz.

'I prefer not to be touched, Mr. Lightyear. I am capable of walking on my own. I don't have to be led,' she said simply.

Buzz looked at her with an cocked eyebrow, and then shrugged it off. 'Very well then, if you insist. But I'm warning you: No tricks!' he gestured with his hand. 'This way.' The Commander, Nida and Buzz walked away from 42, leaving Mira behind.

* * *

'I can't stand her! Honestly!' Booster heard Mira say when he stepped inside the room where they always filed paperwork.

Though he knew who she was talking about, he still had to ask 'Who?'

Mira turned to see him, and lowered her shoulders a bit after her tiny rant. XR was sitting at a desk, tapping with a bored expression on the desk with his pencil-finger, listening to Mira's rant. 'That girl, Nida,' Mira finally answered his question.

Booster raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'And why is that?' he asked, worried. He knew that if Mira didn't like someone, it would take a very long time to like that certain person. And that barely happened.

'It's Petra all over again. She's bad news, I can feel it,' Mira replied.

Booster crossed his arms against his chest. 'Why are you bringing Petra into this? This is something entirely different, Mira.' For some odd reason, he felt that he was getting angry. And he hated to get angry with Mira.

Mira looked at him with pity in her eyes. 'I just fear that you'll get your heart broken again. I just want to protect you.'

This made Booster even angrier. 'I don't need your protection, Princess!' he blustered. 'Just leave me alone, would you?! Is that really too much to ask for?!' Mira's jaw dropped. Booster had never acted like this before, especially not towards her.  
Booster's ears flattened in his neck as he realized he had just yelled at Mira, one of his most trusted friends. He could see her eyes tear up a little. This had really hurt her. And if she was hurt, he was hurt. '… Forget it,' he muttered, and he sat down behind his desk. Mira looked away and took a place behind her own desk. Not a single word was said, not even by XR and the minutes crept by. Booster was eagerly filing the files and reports, but this got him bored after an hour. He leaned with his head in the palm his hand, clicking with the pen in his hand. It didn't take long before he headed off to daydream land.

* * *

'Does that man always yell?' Nida broke the silence between her and Buzz. They had just walked out the Commanders office, and she felt she was getting a little deaf.

Buzz chuckled. 'You'll get used at it. Someday.'

She smiled her half smile. Her hands weren't cuffed anymore. She had to think of what she should do the entire day, now that she was basically trapped inside the space station. She rubbed her head, but quickly pulled away as she felt the bandages.

Buzz saw this, and smiled. 'He's a good boy, you know.'

Nida looked questioningly at him, her head cocked to one side. 'Excuse me?'

Buzz chuckled. 'That boy that did your bandages, Booster.'

Nida felt her bandages again. 'Oh.' The silence returned, as they walked through the hallways of Star Command. 'What is he like?'

Buzz was surprised at this question. 'Well, like I said, he's a good boy. He's very kind, and he really hates to see one of his friends hurt. He can get very emotional. He was really worried about you, you know?'

Nida stopped in her steps. 'He was? I honestly thought he hated me, for calling him tubby.'

Buzz frowned. 'You called him tubby? Then you should know, Nida, that he is very insecure about his weight. So I'm advising you to not make any insulting comments about that subject!'

Nida felt guilt fall on her shoulders. Now she really felt bad, and this irritated her at the same time, because she didn't want to feel guilty about something insulting she said to a goodie-two-shoes Space Ranger!

Buzz sighed, showing Nida into another room. 'Before we go to the med lab, I want to introduce you to Ranger Mira Nova and XR. But I think you already met them.'

Mira, who was sitting at her desk, shrugged and nodded at the same time.

'The grumpy redhead and the tiny Tin-toy, I presume?'

Buzz couldn't hold in a chuckle, but quickly cleared his throat. 'Yes.'

* * *

_'Booster…' a gentle female voice called. _

_'Huh?!' Booster's eyes flew open, and he found himself lying in a cornfield. This cornfield appeared to be a bunzel field. _

_'Booster…' he heard the voice call again. His heart fluttered. He knew very well who that voice belonged to. He sat up, and to his happy surprise he found that he wasn't dressed in his space suit, but in his farmer clothes. He was on his home-planet._  
_He stood up, and made his way to the bunzel fields. 'Booster…' He followed the voice until he entered an open field in the middle of the bunzelfields. And there she was, in all her glory. She wore a light white dress that danced in the wind. She hadn't noticed him yet. Cautiously, he took a step forward. _

_'Nida…?' he stuttered a little. She turned to see him, and she giggled. He smiled a love-struck smile at her, butterflies dancing in his stomach. Then she ran away. 'Where are you going?' he asked. She laughed, and he ran after her. She disappeared in the fields, and he tried to find her back. He could hear her laugh teasingly, and followed the laugh. Then he saw her, she turned to run away again, to the open field again. He laughed, and leaped forward. 'Busted!'_

_He grabbed her by the waist, and together they tumbled into the open field. She screamed in surprise, and he laughed. The tumbling stopped, and Booster lay half on top of her and held her by the wrists, pushing them against the ground. She looked him in the eyes, a playful smile around her lips. 'Looks like I've caught a damsel in distress,' he joked, and she laughed. Booster's face came close to hers, and then-_

'Hello!'

'Aagh!' Booster shot awake and hit his head against the table lamp, looking up with a distressed look on his face. He got red in the face when he saw Nida smirking down on him, her hands placed against her hips.

'What were you thinking about?' she asked. Buzz stood next to her, and looked at Booster with a questioning expression on his face.

'I, uhm, I was thinking of my, uhh… Reports, yes, my reports!' he said quickly.

'Then you look very happy when you are thinking of reports,' she chuckled.

Booster stuttered, and Buzz interrupted him. 'Booster, if you'd like, you can take Nida to the med lab. You can also be her guide and show her around the Gamma Quadrant.'  
Booster smiled happily. 'Really?'

Buzz nodded. 'Nida requested it herself, and I figured you would be the man for the job. But remember: Do NOT leave the Gamma Quadrant! We don't want Warp or whoever try to take Nida back to Planet Z, got it?'

Booster nodded. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" he thought. "This is going to be so cool!"


	5. The fun starts!

Booster and Nida were on their way to the med lab, and not a single word was said between them. Booster glanced down a few times to the female Xethaniän who walked beside him. "Come on, Booster!" he thought. "Say something!" He fiddled nervously with his fingers. 'So, uhm… w-what would you like to e-explore in the uhm, Gamma Quadrant first…?' he asked carefully, trying not to stutter, but failing miserably.

Nida shrugged. 'I dunno. Whatever you like, Booster,' she said in a calm, but not unfriendly tone of voice.

He was surprised by her answer, and at the fact she remembered his name. 'Well, we could, uhm, explore Capital Planet. There is a fountain we could go see-'

'What's so spectacular about a fountain?' Nida interrupted, looking at him with a cocked eyebrow.

Booster smiled at the thought of the fountain. 'Well, it's fantastic to look at!' he started enthusiastically. 'Especially on clear nights. The fountain makes the water that comes out of it make waves and things like that, and they light up in all kinds of different colors! I love to go there, just to look at it.'

Nida smiled her half smile at him. Buzz was right when he said the things he said about this guy. 'Then I suppose we should watch it at night then.'

Booster's ears flattened to his neck in disappointment. 'We can't, unfortunately. I'm only allowed to show you around during the day. We must return to Star Command at night.' Did he just imagine it, or was Nida looking disappointed for a few seconds?

'That's a pity. Is there something else we can do?' she asked, trying to hide her disappointment.

'Actually, there are plenty of things to do. We can visit shops, and tiny café's, there's a cool museum, and much more!' He counted on his fingers.

Nida chuckled. Booster stopped in front of a door, making a gentle gesture with his hand that this was the room they were heading to. He was the one who stepped in first, followed by Nida. Five LGM's, dressed in medical clothing, looked their way and Oooh'd in unison, stepping towards Nida with delighted smiles on their faces.

'Uhh… Hello, I guess…?' said Nida, a bit distrustful.

'A Xethaaaaaniän,' said one of the little green men while he was measuring her height. The other four were checking her pulse, her ears and her eyes.

'Uh, guys…?' Booster interrupted the busy LGM's, who looked with their usual friendly smiles up at him. 'I want to fix Nida's bandages, if you don't mind.' He smiled down on them. The LGM's looked a tad bit disappointed but nodded, and three of them wandered off again, one of them giving Booster a case with supplies. 'Thanks, guys.' He then guided Nida to a hospital bed. She sat down, and Booster took a chair because he was too nervous to sit right next to her.

'Are you sure you know what you're doing?' Nida asked doubtfully when Booster opened the case.

'I wouldn't do this if I didn't know how, would I?' he answered with a raised brow. He gently unwrapped Nida's head bandages, and inspected the wound. 'Well, it sure looks like it's going to heal well, and I don't think it will leave a scar. I'm going to clean it to make sure it doesn't get infected.'

Nida flinched and frowned when he pulled out a bottle of disinfectant liquid and a clean piece of cloth. 'I don't want that!' she scoffed, and, pouting, she crossed her arms against her chest and moved a few inches away from him.

Booster rolled his eyes, and he moved closer to her, which made her move away from him again. 'I really need to clean it, Nida,' he said sternly. He made an attempt to take hold of her hand, but she made a quick jump. 'Hey!' he pouted, as she leaped at the big square lamp hanging on the ceiling. With a simple swing, she was sitting right on top of it. Frowning, he looked up to her, and emotionlessly she looked down on him.

'Get down from there.'

'No.'

Booster crossed his arms, tapping with his foot impatiently and a bit annoyed. 'Right now, young lady!' he demanded.

Nida smirked. 'Who are you, my dad or something like that?'

'Why are you acting like this?' asked Booster, trying not to sound annoyed.

'I don't want any of that stinging stuff on my head, that's why,' she answered.

Booster cocked his head to one side. 'Are you afraid?' he asked.

'What? No, don't be ridiculous!' she snapped, turning her face away from him.

"I think I know how to get her down…" he thought. 'Really? Because what you really should be afraid of is when you're wound actually gets infected,' he said. He tried not to chuckle, and hid his smile. She looked back at him, brows raised.

'What do you mean?' she asked, trying to hide her concern.

'Well, first the wound will burst open. Then it'll bleed and bleed and bleed. After the bleeding stops, pus will come out, which attracts maggots. They'll build a nest in your brain, and multiply. And then the maggots will search for food, eating up tiny pieces of your brain, letting you die a slow and painful death,' he rambled expressionlessly, still looking up to Nida, who grew pale.

The LGM's looked in confusion at Booster, but he gave them a half smile, and they made a quiet "Ooooh" and giggled.

'You're lying!' Nida hissed through gritted teeth as she narrowed her eyes.

Booster shook his head. 'I wish. Ask the LGM's if you don't believe me.'

Nida turned to the LGM's, who looked sad. 'It's truueee,' one of them said.

Nida turned back to Booster. He had turned to the case, and he started packing everything in again. 'I can't force you, but it sure would be a shame if those maggots get to you,' he said sadly. He had just finished packing when he heard a tiny thud on the floor and soft footsteps approaching him.

'… I would like to get that wound cleaned, please…' he heard Nida whisper behind him.

He turned to see her, a kind smile on his face. 'I'm really glad you changed your mind.' He gestured to the bed, and Nida awkwardly sat down, watching him opening the case again and revealing a clean piece of cloth and the disinfectant liquid. Booster noticed the distressed look on her face. 'You can pinch my hand if it hurts,' he told her, and he held out his hand for her. Nida looked at it with a raised eyebrow, but finally she grabbed his hand tightly, making him blush a little. Nida pretended she didn't notice that.

'Now, this is going to sting a little, but I'll be careful,' he said comfortingly, while he raised the cloth with the fluid to her wound. 'Easy…'

'Ow!' Nida yelled.

A sharp pain shot through his arm as the cloth made contact with the wound. 'OUCH!' he nearly screamed.

Nida looked up to him with a frown. 'What are you yelling for? I'm the one who's in pain here!'

He whimpered as he looked at his sore hand, which Nida was still holding on to. 'You pinch so hard…!' he pouted.

Nida rolled her eyes. 'Please, let's get this over with already.' Booster continued with the cleaning, wincing every time as Nida pinched in his hand. When the cleaning was finally done, Nida let go of Booster's hand, and he waved it through the air like he had burned it from holding a bunzel pie that was too hot. She rolled her eyes again.

'There,' he said when he finished bandaging her head again. He held out a mirror for her to look in. 'Not bad, is it?' he declared proudly.

She looked in it, and smiled. 'Not bad at all.'

'Oh, and uhm… about that story I told you, with those maggots and all?' he said nervously, rubbing his neck.

Nida looked up to him, her eyebrows raised. 'What about it?' she asked, leery.

'I lied. It's not true,' he confessed, and her jaw dropped open. 'I made it up so you would come down from that lamp so I could get the wound cleaned.'

Nida's jaw closed and her lips formed a harsh line, her right eye started to twitch, and she got very blue in the face. 'Why you…! YOU INSOLENT, LITTLE-' she looked around for a weapon, and grabbed the pillow. She started slamming him with it, feathers flying out of it. She screamed, 'DON'T YOU EVER DARE TO DO THAT AGAIN, OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL-'

Laughing, Booster grabbed a pillow,and started slamming back. 'NOW YOU'VE DONE IT! FEEL MY REVENGE!' he yelled as he slammed playfully with the pillow. Her angry screaming changed into laughing, and they ended up in an epic pillow fight.  
Feathers flew through the air, and the fighting only stopped when the pillows were nothing more than empty sacks. By then both of them were covered in the feathers and were panting, and their laughing had changed into chuckling.

'Looks like you haven't lost you're sense of humor in that crash earlier today,' chuckled Booster, dusting off the feathers.

Nida laughed as she did the same. 'Well, you don't look you've lost yours either, Booster. You're not so bad after all.'

His heart fluttered when he heard the compliment, and he smiled his usual big, goofy smile. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by someone tugging on his arm, and when he looked down, he saw an LGM looking up at him.

'I don't want to ruuuuuin the fuuuuun, but who's cleaning this uuuuuuup?' asked the LGM, directing their gazes to the floor, which was covered with feathers from the pillows. Booster pointed to Nida, and Nida pointed back to Booster. 'Then you booooooth cleeeeaaaaan,' announced the LGM, and he handed them each a broom, and he went back to his work.

Nida groaned. 'Fantastic! Thanks a lot, Booster!' she scowled at him, placing extra emphasis on his name.

'I beg your pardon?' Booster asked, an eyebrow raised.

Nida wiped furiously with the broom. 'If you didn't make up that stupid story, I wouldn't have attacked you with that pillow, which wouldn't have resulted in that pillow fight, and I wouldn't be cleaning up these feathers!' Booster frowned while Nida continued her rant. 'Long story short,' she pointed with her finger at him, 'this is your fault!'

'Now, look here!' Booster scowled back, standing in front of her. Nida straightened her back, planting her hands on her hips, looking threateningly at him. Booster's ears flattened for a second, but he restrained himself. 'If you didn't act like a child and had just let me clean the wound, we wouldn't be here! We could've been on Capital Planet by now!'

Nida opened her mouth to fire something back at him, but closed again and turned away from him. Booster did the same, and they cleaned up the feathers in silence.

'Uhm, Nida…?' Booster quietly asked while he placed the completely filled pillows back on the bed. She turned a quarter to him, but nothing more and remained silent. 'If we are going to tour through the Gamma Quadrant, you might as well, uhm… change your suit…'

'There's nothing wrong with it, so why should I?' was her short answer.

'Well… People might get scared of you when they see the Z sign. So… I'm afraid you have to.'

'Then what should I wear, genius? I can't go in my underwear now, can I?' she asked sarcastically.

Booster blushed a deep shade of red when he caught himself thinking about that and shook his head furiously.

'Heeeeeereeeee.' The LGM that measured Nida earlier walked over to her with a Star Command space suit in his tiny hands. 'You can borrow theeeeseee.'

Nida looked disgustedly at the suit. 'What, you want me to wear THIS? Sorry guys, not gonna happen.' She crossed her arms, pointing her "nose" in the air.

'Then we're not going anywhere,' said Booster.

Nida grunted, muttered an insult under her breath, then grabbed the suit.

'You can change behind theeeereeeeee.' The LGM pointed to a dressing screen in the corner of the med lab. Nida stepped behind it and started changing her suit.

'This better be my size,' she muttered angrily as she threw her old suit over the dressing screen. Booster blushed at this and quickly looked the other way.

'Hey, pssst!' he heard someone whisper and felt another tug on his arm. He looked down and saw an LGM smirking up to him in a friendly but teasing way.

'You liiiiiikeeeee heeeeer,' the little green man whispered.

Booster flushed red. 'W-What?! No, I-' he stuttered quietly, glancing over to the LGM and back to the dressing screen.

The LGM crossed his arms and shook his head with a smile. 'Tssk tssk. Booster, it's so oooooobviooouuus!'

Booster flushed to a deeper shade of red. 'I-It is…?'

'How do I look?' he suddenly heard Nida ask, and he turned around to see her. His jaw promptly dropped open as he gazed in awe at her. Nida was wearing the Star Command space suit, and she looked even more stunning than she did when she wore the suit with the Zurg logo on it.

'Nida, you look…' He couldn't finish his sentence.

Nida tried not to blush, and she felt a weird feeling in her stomach. Was she getting sick? She felt as if she was burning up.

Coughing, she said, 'Maybe we should go now.'

Booster broke out his love-struck gaze and nodded furiously. 'Y-Yeah, we s-should.'

They stepped through the door, watched by five giggling LGM's.

* * *

'She's gone?!' Zurg rose from his throne, marching down the stairs with furious steps.

Warp, who was standing under the stairs, watched him coming closer, the evil emperor's eyes burning red dangerously. 'Yes. That stupid wench disobeyed my orders to go back inside while I was dealing with Lightyear and his rookies.'

Zurg was standing right in front of him now, his face dangerously close to Warp's. 'And you took off without her?!' he snapped angrily.

Warp raised his hands in defense. 'Hey, I thought she was right behind me, how could I know she was stupid enough to crash into that building?' He had discovered the hole in the building when 42 was already a safe distance away.

'So she thought fighting Lightyear and his rookies was more important than a lunch with me?! How rude!' Zurg pouted, crossing his arms. Then he pointed his finger at Warp's nose. 'You'd better go and get her back here! I don't want my plan to fail! It's almost time, and I won't let the wench ruin it!'

Warp simply nodded, then barged out the room. Zurg watched him leave, and paced around. He pointed at a Grub who, like most of his minions, was quivering from head to toe. 'Send out a message to every possible criminal informant you can reach that they have to look out for a young Xethaniän woman named Nida, and a send picture of her! MOVE IT!' Then he waved with his arms. 'AND WHERE'S MY LUNCH?! I'M HUNGRY!'

* * *

'Well, here we are. Capital Planet.' Booster stepped out the tiny shuttle that was normally attached to 42.

Nida stepped out as well. 'Wow.' She placed her hands on her neck so she could look up to the tall buildings. Their windows where shining in the sun, and the sun was blinding her, but she didn't care. This was amazing! 'This is amazing Booster! And it's so big! I've never been outdoors before! There are so many things I can do, so many things to see-' She jumped onto a bench, startling an old lady that was feeding the pigeons.

Booster pulled Nida away quickly. 'I know you're excited, but let's try not to scare any people, okay?' He made apologetic gestures at the old lady, who was glaring at them.

'Come on Booster, I'm just gettin' loose! I never felt so FREE!'

Booster smiled a small smile while he held her by her shoulders, pushing her forward from behind. 'I'm aware of that Nida.'

'Well, well, well, ain't that the cutest thing?' he heard a slimy, familiar voice behind them. They both turned around to see who spoke. They stared at what was to Nida an unfamiliar race of alien, with slicked back red hair. He was short, had brown skin, and his nose was strangely longer than his ears. He smiled, baring his crooked teeth. They were disgustingly yellow, and Nida almost gagged.

'I never knew that you had a little girlfriend, Ranger Booster,' the stranger continued in his slimy voice. He looked Nida over from head to toe. 'And it's a nice looking lass too, if I say so myself.' Nida took a few steps back, but raised her fist at him, glaring daggers.

Booster stepped protectively in front of Nida. 'Crumford Lorak!' he growled. 'What are you doing here in this part of the universe? Don't you always hang out on Trade World?'

'Come on now, Booster, I can't hang out on the same place all the time, now can I?' was Crumford's sweet response. 'Even I need a little vacation from time to time, not that I'm not busy with things Star Command shouldn't stick its nose in.' Booster glared at him. 'And how about you, Booster? Do you have a date with this fine young lady?' Crumford continued, glancing over to Nida and back to Booster.

"How I would like to punch him on his ugly face!" Nida thought, balling her hands into fists.

'Her name is Nida, and I'm her guide,' was Booster's short answer, and he crossed his arms against his chest. 'Now if you'll excuse us, Crumford, I have some guiding to do.' Booster wrapped an arm around Nida's shoulder and pulled her with him while he stepped away from Crumford.

Crumford simply stood there, smiling his oily smile. Nida made a gesture as if she was slicing her throat, and aimed a glare at him.

Crumford chuckled, and turned around when his portable computer started to beep. He opened it, and stared at the message and the picture that came with it. "Wanted: Nida Eudoll. Race: Xethaniän. Age: 21. Alive." He closed his computer with a smirk and turned to where Booster had dragged Nida off to. 'Well, well, well… Ain't that interesting?' he muttered, smiling, his yellow teeth bared, and he disappeared into an alley.


	6. Fun Comes to an End

'Who was that creep?' Nida asked. She was really annoyed by Crumford, and she would have loved to punch him in the face some time.

Booster released Nida when they were a safe distance away. 'I'm sorry about that, Nida. That guy's named Crumford Lorak. Not quite the type we should hang out with… He's a criminal informant and doesn't stand above saving his own behind over another's. Also, he'll do anything for a buck. Me and my team have bumped into him on similar missions…'

Nida shuddered. 'Did you see the way he looked at me? Perverted little-'

Booster growled, raising his fist. 'If he dares to touch you, I'll break his arm!' he said through gritted teeth, interrupting her tiny rant. Nida looked up to him with raised eyebrows, and Booster blushed, embarrassed. 'I uhm- I am s-supposed to p-protect you, I-I mean…'

Nida patted him on the shoulder. 'Relax Booster, I could handle it myself. I mean, if he even dared, I would kick him between the legs so hard he wouldn't be able to sit for six weeks.'

Booster smiled a half smile. 'Can we change that into six months?' he suggested. Nida laughed and his heart fluttered again.

'Deal!' she chuckled, and they shook hands. Then Nida got distracted by something, and she walked to it like she was in trance. Booster followed her, and soon they were standing in front of a toy shop. Nida kneeled down in front of the show window, and she stared with a big smile at a choo-choo train that was riding around. Booster tried not to laugh. She looked like a kid at Christmas.

'Amazing! I've never seen anything like it! What is this kind of place, Booster?' she asked, looking up to him with twinkling eyes.

'This is a toy shop, Nida. And what you are looking at is a toy train. Parents or grandparents buy toys for their children or grandchildren to play with.'

Nida stared at the train again. 'Toys?' she asked, confused.

Booster looked worriedly at her. 'Didn't you ever have any toys when you we're a kid?'

Nida got up, still staring at all the colorful toys behind the glass window. 'No. Not at all.' Her response was short, and Booster could hear her sadness. 'I was raised by Pods and Grubs. They always told me that playing was a waste of time, so the only thing I did was-' She didn't finish her sentence, because she could feel her voice would crack.

'Training and studying…' Booster finished for her.

Nida let her head down. 'Yes.'

Booster's ears had flattened when he heard the story. 'Do you want to talk about it?' he asked gently.

Nida gazed at the reflection in the window of him. He looked at her with a worried frown, his ears flattened. She smiled when she felt the same feeling in her stomach she had earlier. She still couldn't place why she felt this way when she was near him. She finally turned to him. 'Let's try not to ruin the fun,' she said with a gentle smile. Then something else caught her eye. An ice cream cart with a man in a silly costume behind it. 'What' that?' she asked, an eyebrow cocked, pointing at the car.

Booster looked at what she pointed at and smiled. 'That's an ice cream car. It sells ice cream to those who are hungry or would like a snack.'

Nida raised both her eyebrows in confusion. 'Ice cream? I never heard of that.'

Booster gestured to the car. 'Would you like to try one out?'

Nida shrugged. 'It wouldn't hurt trying.' With that they stepped to the ice cream car.

* * *

Meanwhile, Warp Darkmatter landed in an alley nearby. He looked around, but didn't see anyone, so he and started walking to the end of the alley. That's when someone small ran around the corner, bumping into Warp with a loud thud, and fell to the ground.

'Hey! Watch it! Stinkin' cyborgs- Warp Darkmatter! What a pleasure to see you here! What brings you to Capitol Planet?' a voice growled, that quickly changed into a slimy voice when the alien noticed who he had bumped into.

Warp rolled his eyes. 'I'm looking for someone. A young Xethaniän. You didn't happen to see one of those around, have you, Crumford Lorak?' He looked down on Crumford with a leery scowl on his face.

'Maybe I have… Maybe I haven't… It all depends on how much you want to pay me for it.' Crumford rubbed his index finger and thumb together.

Warp grasped Crumford's hand with his own metal one, and turned it on his back, making Crumford yelp in pain. 'You mean you want me to break your arm?' Warp asked.

'A'right! A'right, I'll tell you! But please release me!' Crumford yelped. Warp did, and Crumford rubbed his sore arm, looking at Warp with an angry scowl. 'I saw the girl you're looking for not long ago! She was with that fat Space Ranger, Booster!'

Warp frowned in confusion. 'What's Nida doing with that fat janitor?' he wondered out loud.

'He said he was her guide.' Crumford answered, still rubbing his arm. 'I don't know where they're heading to next,' he pointed out with his healthy arm, 'but they went in that direction!'

Warp smirked, and headed off in the direction Crumford pointed to. Crumford watched him leave with a glare, muttering something about an "enemies list" and he quickly disappeared into the alley.

* * *

'Aaaand… What now?' Nida asked while studying the ice cream cone in her hand. She had no idea what to pick, so she just chose a random flavor.

'You've got to eat it,' Booster said, holding an ice cream cone with strawberry flavor himself. Nida looked at her cone with doubt, then shrugged, and she took a big bite from the ice cream, and started chewing. Booster flinched. 'No, no, not like that! It's really really-' He looked with wide eyes at the first calm, but now very distressed Nida. She dropped her cone, grasping for her head, screaming with her mouth still shut. She was rubbing her temples, and finally ran around in small circles. People stopped and looked with raised eyebrows at this. Some people quickened their step, not wanting to know what was going on.

Finally, Booster burst into laughter. Nida was rolling over the ground now, still screaming with her mouth shut and still rubbing her temples. 'Ahahahahaha, N-Nida, s-stop doing thahahahat! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! OW MY BELLY!' Booster wiped his eyes, still laughing heavily.

Nida finally managed to swallow the ice cream and got up, panting. Then her eyes fell on the laughing Jo-Adian in front of her. She frowned, and grabbed some ice cream from the cone she dropped. 'Oh, so you think this is funny?!'

Booster looked at her, and he stopped laughing when he saw her hiding something behind her back. 'What do you have there?' he asked, worried, pointing at her hidden arm.

That's when Nida leaped at him, and before he knew it, she had rubbed the ice cream in his face. 'There!' Nida wiped off her hands triumphantly, while Booster glared down at her.

'Oh so that how we're going to play it, huh?' he said slowly and threateningly.

Nida poked him teasingly in his belly. 'Whatcha gonna do about it, big guy?'

Booster wiped the ice cream of his face, and picked up some of the ice cream he dropped himself. He wanted to rub it in her face as well, but Nida avoided his attack, and she jumped with an impressive height over him, and she kicked against one of his legs in attempt to let him fall on his back. It failed. She yelped in pain and grabbed her foot, jumping up and down. 'Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, owowowow!' Nida rubbed her sore foot and looked up to Booster, who looked with a raised eyebrow and his hands placed in his hips down to her.

'What exactly were you trying?' he asked with a chuckle. Nida looked shamefully down at her feet.

'Well, it looks like you two are having fun, huh?' a sarcastic voice asked behind them.

Nida looked with surprise at Warp, while Booster turned in horror. 'Warp Darkmatter?' Nida said with little delight. People hurried off the streets. 'What are you doing here?' She stepped towards him.

'What does it look like, stupid wench?' Warp snapped, popping out a plasma gun from his metallic arm. He aimed it at Booster, who aimed with his wrist laser back at him.

'Wha- WENCH?!' Nida yelled irritated. 'What do you think you're doing?!' Warp grabbed her roughly by the arm, still aiming at Booster.

'I'm going to take you back to Planet Z! And don't think you can escape so easy next time!' he growled.

Nida looked at him with wide eyes. "Escaped?! What is this fool talking about?" she thought.

Booster grew red with anger when Warp grabbed her by the waist. 'Release her at once!' he growled, his laser directly aimed at Warp. Warp cocked an eyebrow at him. Nida took advantage of the distraction and kicked him in the stomach with her knee. Warp shouted in pain, and released her, grasping his stomach.

Nida jumped to Booster, and she hid behind him. 'Are you okay Nida? Did he hurt you?' Booster asked her worriedly, still aiming at Warp, who was still grasping his stomach.

'Yeah, that asshole will think twice before he grabs me like he did.' She scowled at Warp, who stood up, glaring daggers.

'You little bitch!' he hissed through gritted teeth. 'You'll regret that!' He aimed his plasma gun at both of them.

Booster was about to lunge at Warp, but Nida was already ahead of him. 'Nida, don't!' Booster yelled, attempting to grab her arm and pull her back to him. Nida had other plans, though. She jumped over Warp with ease, and Warp fired with his plasma gun at her while she flew over him, but he missed.

As she landed behind him, she quickly gave a few hard punches against his spine. Warp fell on his knees, yelling in pain. Nida then kicked him hard in the face with her foot, and Warp fell unconscious to the ground. People who were watching in fear started to cheer. Nida dusted off her suit, smirking down on the unconscious Warp.

'You're gettin' old, Darkmatter!' she said triumphantly, before stepping to Booster, who has looking in admiration at her, his mouth hanging open. She pulled him by his arm and dragged him away from the unconscious man on the ground. 'C'mon, we need to get outta here before that horse's ass wakes up!' she told him as they ran to the ship.

'Nida, that was-'

'Save it for later!'

Once they were aboard the ship, Booster jumped behind the controls and as soon as Nid was in as well, he started the ship and flew away from Capitol Planet.

'Phew! That was close, wasn't it Nida?' Booster broke the silence after they'd left the planet. He had forced a smile, but his heart was still beating like crazy. He thought he would lose her back there! He looked over to Nida, who was looking out the window at the planet as it became smaller and smaller. She looked really pale, as if all the blood was drained from her skin. 'Hey, are you alright?' he asked worriedly, still wondering if Warp might have hurt her. He tightened his grasp on the controls at that thought, and he felt his blood boil with rage. 'I mean it ,Nida, if he did anything that hurt you, I'll-'

'Booster, please! We're safe now, aren't we?' answered Nida, without turning away from the window.

'Y-yes, we are, but-'

'Then what's the problem?' she asked bitterly, now finally facing him, frowning. Booster flattened his ears and stuttered uncontrollably. 'Well?' Nida asked again, growing impatient.

'I-I was just… I was just afraid that I might lose you! I have a strong urge to protect you from any danger that might overcome you, even if it means putting my own life at risk!' Nida had widened her eyes and opened her mouth, but closed again as Booster continued.  
'I know it might sound crazy, but I don't do this because it's my job! I do it because I l-' he couldn't finish his sentence because a laser suddenly hit the ship, and it shook heavily.

Booster and Nida screamed in shock, and Booster fought to keep the ship under control. Nida looked bewilderedly out the window, only to see Warp Darkmatter flying behind them with his own ship, accompanied by countless hornets. She turned to Booster, who was still fighting with the controls.

'I can't hold on!' he yelled. 'We're going to make a crash-landing!'

Nida hated to admit it, but she could feel she was actually scared. The distance between them and the planet underneath them grew less and less. At one point, Booster had to release the steering controls because it hurt him to keep it straight. Not that it mattered if he held on or not, they were going to crash anyway. Nida grabbed his hand and squeezed it, not like she did before in the med-lab, but gently. Booster gently squeezed back, and both of them shut their eyes tightly. Then there was darkness.


	7. Pain

'…Ugh…' Booster gradually woke up, with his face flat in the dirt and sand. He slowly sat up straight and winced, grabbing his head. His vision was blurry, and at first he didn't know where he was. Through a haze, all he could see were some blackened trees and perished bushes. Some weak branches broke off in the wind, and they flew in Booster's face, making him sputter and cough, his vision more blurry than it was before.

He turned around on his behind, holding his hands before his face, still coughing. When he pulled away and his vision was somewhat cleared, he saw the wreckage of the ship, a huge hole in the glass staring at him. "…I must've soared through it in the crash…" he thought. "Question is… why was I in this shuttle…? …and was there someone with me…?"

He rubbed his sore head, and as he thought about the possibility that somebody might have been with him, he focused on the passenger seat. He saw a small silhouette sitting in it, with his or her head resting on his or her shoulder. He or she seemed unconscious. "…She…" he thought again. "…Wait… She?!" He widened his eyes when it hit him. He immediately remembered everything, and all the memories flashed in front of his eyes like a sped-up movie. The lunch at Cosmo's, the call from 57, the meeting between him and her on Planet Z, how she fought against him, how they talked in the brig, how he cleaned her wound and how hard she pinched his hand, their pillow fight, the look on her face when she saw the choo choo train… and the crash. How she squeezed his hand when they both made a crash landing. "Nida… NIDA?!" No response.'NIDA!' he yelled.

He completely panicked right then and there. 'N-NIDA!' He half ran, half tripped to the wreckage, shouting her name, and looked inside. She didn't move. He grabbed onto the jammed window, and pulled with all the his strength, trying to lift it up. He gritted his teeth and grunted before the window finally gave in, and he lifted it, throwing it aside.

Then he looked with wide eyes at his companion. She was indeed unconscious, and he quickly lifted her up from her seat, and carefully sat down, leaning with his back against the wreckage and with Nida on his lap. 'Nida? Please speak to me!' he pleaded. He listened close to her mouth, but in his panic he couldn't hear if she was breathing or not, which made him panic even more.

He shook her shoulders gently but forcefully, and her head fell limp against his chest. He couldn't take it anymore. He started sobbing, and whispered no's, denials and her name. He rocked her in his arms, like a mother with a wailing baby, and tears rained on her face as he held her close in a caring embrace. Soon his weeping became incontrollable and tears streamed like a waterfall down his eyes.

Nida groaned softly as she felt something wet fall in her face, and she slowly opened her eyes, blinking against the strong light. She realized she was lying in and against something big and soft, but couldn't tell what it was, until her eyes fell on the big Star Command logo on Booster's chest. Her eyes went upwards, and to her surprise she saw the big guy crying over her, his eyes squeezed shut. He didn't know she was awake. She felt her face heat up. Then she poked him in the chest. 'Hey, crybaby? Would you mind letting me go now? I can't breathe!' she snapped, and she crossed her arms. He didn't seem to hear her, and growing impatient, she punched him against his chest.

His eyes snapped open in shock, and he suddenly screamed. He pushed her away, and she fell with a shout to the ground, rolling away from him. When she stopped rolling, she snapped her head into his direction, looking furious. He was clutching his chest where his heart was, and looked at her as if she was a ghost. She raised herself up, wiped the dust off her suit, then looked back at him with an fuming glare. Her face was looking so blue, she looked like she was about to explode. 'Dude, what the hell?! Do you think I'm some kind of ragdoll?!'

Booster could only stare at her. He was trying to find the words he needed to speak. The only thing he could think of was shouting her name in a tone as if he hadn't seen her in years. Nida rolled her eyes.

'Well duh, that's my name! And I hope for you that I didn't bruise any of my ri-' She didn't get to finish that, because an overjoyed Booster pulled her in a very tight hug.

'You're alive!' he screamed, elated, jumping over the desert and twirling her around.

'AGH! CAN'T- BREATHE! Let go of me, you idiot!' squeaked Nida. Booster didn't hear her, he was too busy jumping around, squealing with joy. 'ENOUGH!' screamed Nida, and she gave him a sudden furious elbow in his stomach. He gasped for air and let go, causing her to fall a second time. He grasped his stomach in pain.

'Ouch! Where did you do that for?!' he squeaked. He was looking hurt and insulted.

Nida dusted herself off, shooting death glares at him. 'Now you definitely bruised me up! Thanks a lot, dork!' She rubbed her sore spots, still glaring. Booster was glaring a little now, too.

'Excuse me? I thought you were dead!' he spat back. 'And now you bruised my stomach!' He rubbed his sore belly, his lower lip quivering.

'Oh, whatcha gonna do now, huh?' asked Nida mockingly. 'Cry?' Booster shot a glare at her, and walked a few meters away. There he sat down in lotus position, leaning with his face in his hands, pouting. Nida watched him sit down and snorted, rolling her eyes. 'Idiot…' she muttered under her breath, and glared at Booster when she heard him mimic what she said. She went to the small ship, inspecting it. 'Craters, it's busted!' she snarled, and she shot another glare at Booster. 'Never let a Jo-Adian drive a space ship. Gotta make a note of that.' She made sure it was loud enough for Booster to hear it.

Now he was sick of it. 'See here now!' he spat, standing back up, barging over to her. She stood straight, trying to look dangerous and threatening. Booster was standing right in front of her now, looking very angry and upset. 'The only reason the shuttle crashed is because we were fired at!' he shouted. 'By Warp Darkmatter! Who wants to take you back to Planet Z where Evil Emperor Zurg is planning to use you as an evil weapon!'

Nida looked at him with wide eyes. 'He would never do that!' she shot back. 'I'm his henchman! Not a weapon!'

Booster was taken aback by this. 'You don't know?' he asked, his voice lowering. Nida continued to glare.

'Know what? That you are a stinky liar?! Telling lies about my master?!' Her voice grew louder as her anger rose.

Booster's ears flattened, afraid that she might punch him. 'I- I'm only telling you what 57 said-' he stuttered. Nida got angrier at the mention of 57.

'57?! That little traitor?! So he's the one spreading lies about me being used like something you can throw away in the end!'

Booster took carefully a step back. 'Wait, aren't you two friends?' he asked, confused.

'Friends!' snorted Nida. 'He ditched me! Left me out in the cold when I needed him the most!' She turned her back to him, taking furious steps to the shuttle. 'I don't need friends, anyway! They only stand in the way! I'm better off on my own!'

Booster's lower lip quivered when he heard this. He took a few cautious steps forward. 'But… I thought we were friends…' he said softly, casting his eyes to the ground.

Nida froze when she heard this. She didn't turn at first. '…We are not friends,' she said. Her voice sounded cold. Booster looked in shock back at her. 'We are far from friends. I don't even like you,' she continued. 'You only stand in the way, and it's your fault we crashed here.'

Neither one of them said one word after that. It was completely silent, except for the wind that brushed through a few blackened bushes. Then Booster took a deep breath.  
'You know what… If you really think that I stand in the way and that you are better off on your own-' his voice sounded hurt and strained, and he took another deep breath trying to push his tears away. '-Then good luck on your own.' And he turned around, walking away from her. He took one last glance over his shoulder to see if she looked back, hoped that she would turn around and run after him, but she didn't. She didn't even flinch. This hurt him more, and the tears began to flow. He just cried quietly as he stepped forward over the desert of the devastated planet.

Nida didn't turn around, because she was just frozen in her position. When she did turn to look, Booster was just a dot in the distance. She felt the guilt flow over her again. She sat down against the wreckage and buried her head in her arms. But she didn't cry. She just sat there, in the hot sun, looking up a few times to see if Booster had come back, but he didn't.

"Was I too harsh to him?" she wondered, looking at the point Booster went. She secretly hoped he'd come back.

'Waiting for someone?' she heard a sudden voice above her head, and she froze when she recognized it. She looked up to see Warp smirking down on her, accompanied by the Hornets. Nida frowned and looked away.

'What do you want, Darkmatter?' she asked, irritated.

Warp fumbled with his gun in his organic hand. 'Ain't that obvious? I'm going to take you back to Planet Z!' And he tried to grab her arm. She dodged him and stepped away.

'Don't you dare to touch me!' she hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. Warp was a little dumbfounded, then smirked.

'You are so prim and stubborn,' he said, chuckling a little. 'So adorable.'

'Adorable?!' Nida's eyes shot fire.

'Yeah, you are. I mean, look at you.' He made a gesture at her, looking her over. 'Did you really think you were one of Zurg's henchmen? What would he need a woman for?' His smirk grew bigger when he saw Nida's strong posture crumble.

'I- I'm not one of Zurg's henchmen?' she asked weakly. She felt like she was about to sink through the ground in any second. For the first time she felt weak and vulnerable. A horrible feeling she never thought she'd feel.

'Of course not!' snorted Warp. 'You're nothing more than a weapon! And once he's done with you…' He stepped a little closer, and with his robotic hand he pretended to slice his throat.

She looked around, trying to find a possible way out. She backed away a bit, not knowing she was heading towards a deep dark canyon. 'Y-you… You're lying! You're a filthy liar!' she shouted at him, backing away more and more. Warp only came closer.

'I would never lie to you,' he mocked.

Nida squeezed her eyes shut, one single tear running down her cheek and backing away more. "I wish Booster was here…"

* * *

'Stupid girl… Why doesn't she see I'm just trying to help her?!' muttered Booster. He was sitting on a big rock, leaning with his chin in his hands. He was very upset that Nida had let him down like this. "If only I could talk to her…" he thought.

He hadn't gone too far away. After his walk, he'd arrived in what seemed to be the ruins of a small town. There were just a few houses. …Well… What was left of them. He saw a stick lying in front of him, and he picked it up to throw it against a building. Until he noticed this wasn't just a stick… It was a bone!

He let out a horrified shout and dropped the bone. He fell on his back and crawled away from it, looking terrified. Then his hands bumped against something hard. He looked and shouted louder than the first time. It was a skull. He jumped back on his feet and on the rock he was sitting on, taking a pose as if he was a lady that just saw a mouse in her kitchen, and screaming like one too.

'What is this?!' he thought aloud, frightened, as he saw more and more bones and skulls scattered around the place. He slowly climbed down again, amazed that he didn't notice this horrifying sight when he arrived. He looked at the ground, picking up a skull to examine it closely.

It was the skull of a kid. Maybe not even older than three. It sickened him. He looked at other skulls and bones, and noted some of these were from children as well. He resisted the urge to throw up, as he held a hand before his mouth. He quickly dropped the skull again.

He stepped closer to the ruins of a building, carefully stepping over bones and skulls, afraid to touch them. He looked closer at the markings on the building. He couldn't read them, but he recognized them. These were Xethanïan marks. Booster's face fell with deep sadness as he remembered the tales his ma and pa had told him. How Zurg destroyed the moon, and how the shockwave had decimated this planet. He wiped away a single tear that escaped his eye. Then he thought back at Nida. How would she react when she saw this? This was her home planet, after all. Booster sighed sadly.

He decided to travel back to the craft and to her. "If she was wise, she stayed there," he thought. He ran away from the graveyard.

'Leave me alone!' he suddenly heard someone scream when he came closer. He sneaked behind a large rock, and peeked around the corner. His heart almost stopped beating at what he saw. Nida was driven back to the very edge of the cliff by Hornets and worse: Warp Darkmatter. It enraged him.

'You have nowhere to go now,' smirked Warp, and he grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him. Then he was startled by various laser shots that blew several Hornets through their heads. He let go and turned his head to see Booster charging at them, aiming his laser at him, screaming 'LEAVE HER!'

'The fat janitor!' spat Warp, and he let go of Nida's arm, aiming his laser at him and firing back. Nida looked backwards, and down at the dark pit that she'd fall in if she didn't watch her step. Booster fired back furiously, and hissed in pain as one of Warp's shots scratched his upper right arm, blood coming from the small wound. He ignored the pain and kept firing back, trying to dodge.

Nida shuffled away carefully from the canyon, and sighed in relief once she was at a safe distance from it. She looked at Warp, standing with his back at her, and saw her chance to help Booster in this fight. She lunged and tackled him.

'Nida! Don't!' yelled Booster and he ceased fire. He didn't want to risk hitting her with his wrist laser. Nida kicked and punched Warp as hard as she could. But it was no use. He dodged her, leaving her standing there in surprise, and then kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying through the air. She screamed as she fell over the edge of the canyon, but managed to grasp the edge in time, holding onto it tightly and looking utterly terrified.

'NO!' screamed Booster. He wanted to run to her, but Warp fired another laser beam at him, and he had to duck behind a large rock which shielded him from Warp's lasers.

"What do I do?! What do I do?!" Booster thought, covering his head as a laser flew just past his ears. His eyes fell on a rock, and he picked it up, weighing it in his hand. He peeked past the corner of the rock, and pulled back quickly as lasers nearly hit him. 'I have only one chance…' he whispered to himself. Then he quickly stood up, and ran from behind the rock, dodging the lasers. He tossed the rock, counting on luck. The rock flew through the air, and with success. It hit Warp against his left eye.

'ACK! You piece of-' he was cut short by Booster who hit him in the foot with his laser, and he screamed again, grabbing his bleeding foot. Booster lunged forward, and hit him with his fist. Warp fell unconscious to the ground, his mouth hanging agape, blood trickling down from it.

'And STAY down!' growled Booster through clenched teeth.

'Help!' a faint plea came from the cliff. Nida was trying to climb back up, but couldn't find any grip with her feet. She tried to pull herself up and her feet found small support on a small piece of rock sticking out. But when she tried to stand on it, it broke off and she screamed as she almost lost her grip on the edge, now only holding on with one hand.

She felt tears sting her eyes. 'Help! BOOSTER!' she screamed his name, and her scream filled the canyon as she lost her grip and fell. Suddenly, she felt a strong hand around hers. She looked up and looked straight at Booster, who was trying to pull her back with his left hand.

'Hold on!' squeaked Booster. His fight with Warp had cost him much energy and adrenaline which worn him out. He was fighting back tears, and sweated at the effort he was putting in. Nida was crying, so happy to see him, but also in fright. She felt his hand slip away and felt weak herself.

'I-I can't!' she cried. She felt his grip tighten, but their hands were slippery. Booster was crying now too. As she slowly slipped out of his grip, she shut her eyes tightly, more tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm a horrible person! I chased him away, and now here I am, hanging at the edge of death!" She looked back up at him, at his frightened face, at how his tears fell. She wanted to say sorry so badly. But when she opened her mouth to speak, their hands lost grip. Both their eyes widened. Her bloodcurdling scream filled the desert as she fell into the darkness of the canyon.

'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' Booster sobbed as she fell away from him, tears streaming down his face. He looked away, squeezing his lips tightly together, her scream still ringing in his ears. He cried in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he wept. Everything was quiet.

His crying was interrupted by a sudden cracking sound. His head shot up, and he looked down at where he was lying. He gasped as the part of the cliff where he lay cracked and sank down. He jumped to his feet, his sudden movement causing the ground to crack and it crumbled away underneath his very own feet. His scream echoed through the desert as he fell down too, facing the same fate as his companion.


	8. Buzz's Flashback

Buzz, Mira and XR were flying through the galaxy, following the emergency signal Booster and Nida's cruiser sent out when it crashed. Buzz was clamping the controls tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning white from it. He thanked the heavens his suit had gloves. Mira was clenching her teeth together, pushing away tears, incredibly worried for her friend. XR didn't say a word.

'I knew this was a bad idea Buzz!' Mira broke the silence. She spoke in a hoarse tone. 'I knew this girl was trouble from the moment we met her!'

Buzz said nothing. He just kept staring forward. The coordinates from where the signal came from were all too familiar to him.

'We need to get him out of there!' Mira spoke again. Then her head snapped to look at Buzz, looking frustrated. 'For Tangea's sake, Buzz, speak up! Say something!'

Buzz took a deep breath before he spoke. 'The signal… the signal came from… her home planet.' His voice was shaky. Memories from that horrible day flashed before his eyes. Mira looked at him with big eyes and XR turned around to listen.

'It came from… Xethé?!' gasped Mira.

Buzz nodded. 'I know those coordinates all too well, unfortunately.'

XR rolled to them, looking at Buzz curiously. 'You were there?' he asked, one eyebrow raised.

Buzz let out a weary sigh. 'I remember it all too well…' he repeated.

* * *

_Rookie Lightyear had just finished the Academy, and was already thrown into battle. A heavy one. The farming planet Xethé was being attacked by the Evil Emperor Zurg. He had heard much about Zurg but never met him in person. A strange feeling inside him said he would, someday._

_'Alright, Rangers, let's blow these bloody hornets to bits, move it, move it, move it!' yelled Commander Nebula. He had a big black mustache and brown skin. He was known for his adventures and his successful career as commander of Star Command. Nebula patted Lightyear on the shoulder. 'Go get those hornets, kid!' he said to him before going into the launch tubes himself. _

_Buzz saluted at him. Buzz had shown great performance at the Academy. His record was flawless and he was one of the top students. He and his friend Warp got a team of their own together, Warp being the copilot. _

_Rocket Crocket smirked when he passed Buzz. 'Don't get any ideas, Lightyear! I'll be the hero this time!' he boasted, pointing at himself. _

_Buzz glared. 'Don't you have any space traffic to control?' He briefly reminded Rocket of the punishment duty he had to do when he messed up a mission to catch a pocket thief. _

_Rocket shot him a death glare and opened his mouth to spit something back, but was interrupted before he could get the words out._

_'Rocket! Get your ass to the launch tubes!' screamed Nebula. Rocket saluted and took a run for it._

_Later, Buzz was fighting in space against Zurg's hornets. The hornets kept coming but he kept fighting - until he heard an explosion. One of their ships exploded after being hit by a massive bomb. Unfortunately, there were people inside. They could never survive. Wait… wasn't Commander Nebula on that ship?_

_Buzz flew to it to search for survivors along with other Rangers. Then he saw the silhouette of a person. His left leg was bleeding badly and his suit damaged, losing oxygen. Buzz turned the body to see who it was and to his shock it was the Commander, unconscious. He was still breathing but with trouble. Buzz had to be fast._

_He wrapped one arm around the Commander's waist and flew away from the wreckage to a ship nearby, yelling for backup and asking permission to come aboard of the ship. As soon he was in he dragged him to the medical section of the ship, where two little green men were._

_'You guys help me!' he shouted, laying the unconscious Commander on a bed. The LGM's went to work quickly, one giving Buzz an oxygen mask and the other taking care of the wounded leg gently, but with amazing speed. Buzz carefully placed the mask over Nebula's nose and mouth, while the second LGM gave an injection against the pain. Thankfully, Commander Nebula's troubled breathing soon became less erratic._

_Buzz looked at the LGMs and winced when he saw the Commander's leg. It was badly hurt and the sheets are drenched in blood. 'Is his leg going to be okay again?' he asked in a worried tone. The LGMs looked at him and shook their heads, looking sad. Buzz sighed, but flinched when he felt a hand on his arm._

_'Light…Year…'_

_Buzz glanced down and saw that Commander Nebula has opened his eyes, looking up at him. He looked pale. 'Commander Nebula.' Buzz felt relieved to see he was awake._

_'You… you saved me…'_

_'That's what every Ranger would have done, Commander.'_

_Nebula grinned weakly. He stretched out his arm, pointing at the door. 'Get back into the field, son…'_

_'But, sir-'_

_'That's an order…!'_

_Buzz was silent, but then nodded and saluted, the Commander saluted back weakly, but grinning proudly at Buzz._

_'Go get 'em Ranger…!'_

_Buzz returned to the battlefield with newfound strength. He aided his fellow Rangers in the battle, blasting the hornets to the other part of the galaxy._

_'Pull back! PULL BACK!' yelled Rocket Crocket. Buzz flew to him, looking angry._

_'We can't pull back! We have to save those citizens and-' he was interrupted by the sound of a rocket blasting off. Crocket pulled Lightyear with him by the arm._

_'Nebula gave orders! We have to retreat! That rocket is headed straight for the moon! Staying here will be our death!'_

_'We CAN'T!' yelled Buzz. 'There must be something we can do against that rocket! Those people NEED US!'_

_Crocket was silent for a moment before placing his hand on Buzz's shoulder. 'As much as I admire your will to save these people… We just can't Buzz. There's nothing we can do here. And unless you want to turn into space dust we have to leave now!'_

_Buzz was quiet. He looked at his colleague and back at the rocket that was sent off, how it flew closer to the moon. Then he let out a shaky sigh and flew away with Rocket._

_Two minutes later there was an explosion. And too late to go back now._

* * *

'Wow…' whispered Mira. She was very impressed by the story and didn't know what to say.

'So that is how dad lost his leg?!' asked XR shocked.

'Yes. It had to be amputated.'

'Whoa!' said Mira and XR in unison, looking in astonishment at each other before back at Buzz.

Buzz sighed. 'We have to get there. Booster's life might depend on it.'

'Don't say that Buzz,' whispered Mira. 'We mustn't think that.'

'I know Mira… But we have to brace ourselves for the worst.'


	9. Nightmare and panic attack

It was very dark and quiet in the canyon Booster and Nida fell into. The two were lying on the cold hard ground, unconscious. Until one stirred.

Nida groaned and tried to sit up. Her head hurt intensely. She held it in her hands, the pounding only getting worse by sitting up. She tried to look up. She saw the blue sky right above her, but down there, it was dark and cold because the sun's rays didn't reach past the canyon walls, and there was only just enough light to see.

She looked to her left and nearly screamed when she saw Booster just a few inches from her, his back turned, not moving. She crawled up to him, wobbling all the way. She could barely walk to his other side, her foot was aching so much. She looked at it and cursed, seeing her leg wounded and bleeding heavily. She felt dizzy, but kept walking. When she had finally reached him, she looked at him and she busted herself on being incredibly worried about him and scared he'd be dead. But to her relief he was still breathing. She scanned his body with her eyes, and she saw his suit was torn as well, and that he was bleeding heavily from some wounds.

"How did he get down here? Did the fool jump after me?" she thought. She looked around to see if she could find shelter. She saw a cave and ran to it, removing loose rocks that could possibly hurt Booster, and went back to him. She tried to drag him to the cave.

'Dammit, this guy's heavy!' she huffed, frowning. She tried rolling him by pushing against his sides. It worked. She jerked him up to place with his back against the cave wall. She then turned to the wounds that bled the worst. She reached for her water bundle around her waist, but she didn't feel it. She looked and groaned. 'Craters! I must've left it on Star Command!' she muttered. 'And of course there's no water on this dump of a planet!'

It suddenly grew darker outside the cave, and when Nida peeked out she saw dark clouds in the sky. She grinned. 'Perfect. Where there's rain, there's water.' She started to feel her pockets. 'If only I had something to catch it up with…' When she found nothing in her pockets, she sighed. Then she looked over at Booster and walked to him.  
'Sorry man, but I just need to check your pockets.'

She found a bottle in his left pocket and she cocked an eyebrow. 'Are Star Command's pockets that big to fit a whole bottle in there?' she muttered. The bottle was empty. She opened the cap and placed it on the ground when it finally started to rain. She walked out of the cave and raised her hands into the air, and waved in a majestic manner with her arms above her, steering the water that fell down from the sky around her. It only took a minute, for it started to rain harder. When she had a whole bubble she steered it gracefully into the bottle, completely filling it, and she came back inside the cave.

'Now to clean those wounds…' she muttered and sat down beside Booster. She ripped a piece of her shredded clothing and made it wet with a bit of water from the bottle, then gently pressed it upon the biggest wound and cleaned it. Soon all the bleeding stopped and she bandaged it with more shreds. "If it keeps up like this I'll end up naked…" she thought while she continued to clean. She was happy she'd gotten extra first aid lessons from the pods. Funny thing was she could practice on the grubs. Funnier was they didn't like it at all. She grinned to herself at the memory.

After she was finished, she refilled the bottle with the water that fell from the sky, and after that was done she went back in, shivering. She was soaked to the bone, but she didn't really care. She looked at Booster with a worried expression. "If only he would wake up…"

* * *

_Booster was sleeping. He was in a deep sleep, but suddenly woke up with a shock. His body was aching all over and he tried to sit up. He was in the corn field again. Only this wasn't the cornfield from before. The last one was blooming, bunzels growing on them, the sky was bright and blue… but this field was arid and shriveled, the sky dark and clouded. And his clothes weren't the same. He was dressed in his space suit but it was shredded and he was bleeding. Booster felt threatened. Incredibly threatened._  
_'Where am I…?' he muttered. Then he heard a giggle. A giggle he heard before and yet it was… different. He got on his feet and started walking. His body hurt so much and he felt so scared, he had to struggle not to burst into tears. He heard the giggle again. It sounded demonic. It scared him even more._

_He started to run, and then he suddenly ended up on the open ground in the middle of the bunzle field where he was in the pleasant daydream. Only this field was marred and dry. In the middle of the field he saw her. Nida. Her beautiful dress was now shredded. Wounds on her arms and legs bleeding badly. Booster stopped in his tracks and looked terrified._

_She turned to him, and he looked in horror at her face. Her eyes were white. There were no pupils at all. Blood trickled from her lips. The wound on her head from earlier was open, pus dripping from it, and maggots squirming inside it. He held his hand before his mouth, the urge to throw up intense._

_Nida grinned at him. Then she pointed at him and gestured to come closer to her. Booster shook his head furiously, taking steps backwards. Nida's grin disappeared and turned into a deep frown. 'Then run!' she shouted, and she ran towards him with amazing speed._

_He yelped and turned around, taking a sprint. He heard her screech from behind him, it pierced through his ears. He kept running through the shriveled field, the bunzel plants slapping him in the face as he ran but he kept going._

_Suddenly he heard her screech from right behind him and he felt a kick in his back. He stumbled screaming into the open ground again and landed on his back. Before he could crawl away she punched him in the face. He spat blood and felt her crawl atop of him, face hovering over his. She grinned viciously at him, her teeth bare, and covered with blue colored blood. To his horror he saw she had thousands of sharp little teeth. Almost like Bathyos's sharks have, but more terrifying._

_'You did this to me!' she spoke in the female demonic voice. Booster started crying._

_'W-why are you d-doing this…' he sobbed._

_'What?' Nida looked mock confused. 'You don't remember? Let me help you.' Suddenly a jolt of memories before his eyes._

**"I-I can't!" Her hand slipped and he heard her terrified scream pierce through his ears. He screamed in horror. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

_He screamed in pain and agony, tears streaming down his face. He tried to get free but she was inhumanly strong. She watched with glee how he suffered. _

_'Please… I beg you…' Booster sobbed, looking desperately at her, tears streaming down his face. 'S-stop this… Please stop!' She only laughed. He squeezed his eyes shut, crying before looking back at her, disgusted and furious. 'You SICK BITCH!' he shouted. Nida stopped laughing and looked surprised. Then she looked angry, balled her hand into a fist, and punched him again. Booster coughed up blood and couldn't stop crying._

_'How dare you to speak to me like that! You are the one who did this to me!' she screamed. 'You let me DIE! You are NOTHING! You are WEAK!'_

_'Stop…' Booster sobbed uncontrollably. 'Please stop…'_

_Nida returned to grinning and leaned down to him. 'I'm not that awful… I will give you a kiss…' she whispered. Booster looked in terror at her, breathing erratically. Her sweet smile disappeared for an evil grin again. 'The kiss of DEATH!'_

_Booster's eyes widened in horror, and she opened her mouth wide, her bloody teeth bare, thousands of little fangs coming closer to him fast. Before her teeth sank into his skin, he felt a cold splash of water in his face._

* * *

Booster woke up after having cold rainwater splashed in his face. He spluttered and was awake instantly. He wiped the water of his face, and looked around, breathing heavily his eyes wide and panicked. Nida looked in confusion at him with one cocked eyebrow, holding the bottle in her hand.

When Booster looked at her he screamed in panic and jumped up, regardless of the pain his fresh wounds gave him. He pressed his back against the wall, looking at her in horror, the terrifying image of her nightmare form still flashing before his eyes. 'Go away!' he yelled at her. Nida only looked more confused. The fact that she wasn't moving only made Booster angrier and more scared than he already was. 'I said go away!' he yelled. Nida took one step backwards. She didn't want to mess with the big guy in this condition.

'Booster, calm down. I am not going to hurt you,' she said to him, making gestures with her hands signalling to him to calm down. It didn't work.

'Why should I believe you?!' Booster snapped, looking disgustedly at her. He slowly started to take steps, cautiously walking around her from a safe distance. 'You tried to give me the Kiss of Death!'

Nida looked at him as if he was nuts. Which seemed to be the case right now. 'What? Kiss of death?' she asked, looking at him while he walked around her. 'What are you talking about? Cool down, Booster, you're making no sense!' She tried to stay calm, but got irritated fast when he didn't seem to calm down.

'You won't get me! I won't let you!' he yelled furiously, looking ready to attack. He had his other hand resting on his wrist laser, ready to shoot her if she tried anything "Funny".

'Stop this, Booster! Before you hurt yourself!' yelled Nida, not leaving the place she was standing. Booster ignored her, and kept his laser ready to attack. Nida walked backwards out of the cave and into the rain. It was the only source of water she had.

'Stand still!' screamed Booster, and he shot at her. Nida managed to jump aside just in time. Now she really got angry.

'Crazy Jo-Adian!' she screamed. 'You want a piece of me?! FINE! Bring it!'

'With pleasure!' growled Booster, and he leaped toward her. She jumped aside and Booster crashed against the canyon wall, and with all Nida's might, she combined all the rainwater in her area. She steered it to Booster, and before he could react, he was pinned to the wall with ice.

He tried to struggle against the ice, but it was stronger than the time before. He grunted, growled and groaned, and he squirmed, but none of it worked. Nida had enough of his behavior. She stomped toward him and slapped him in the face. 'Snap out of it!´ she yelled. Booster was startled, and then started sobbing.

'I'm sorry!' he cried. 'I'm so sorry! I couldn't think straight!' Nida took a step forward, still frowning, but listening. 'I had a terrible nightmare! I was so scared!' Booster continued, crying. 'You were trying to kill me! You had thousands of teeth! You just wouldn't stop punching me! And that flashback! That horrible flashback you showed me!'

Nida let her stern posture drop and felt bad, seeing him in such agony like this. In a way, it hurt her too.

'Your screaming! Your hand that slipped away from me! I couldn't save you! I'm so sorry!'

Nida had to push tears back, and with a gesture she let the ice melt as soon as it froze again. Once he was free Booster dropped to his knees and hid his face in his hands, crying his eyes out. Nida slowly walked to him, and sat on her knees beside him. She didn't exactly know what to do. These situations were very unfamiliar for her.  
'It's okay now…' she said softly to him, and she rubbed his back, hesitantly at first. 'It's okay… I'm not mad… It's all going to be okay Booster… we are going to solve this together…'

They were soaked to the bone because of the rain, but they didn't care. Nida stayed there comforting him for the next two hours, as if she had known him all her life.


End file.
